Nick Wilde: Card Shark
by Wolfe Scratch
Summary: After Nick's attempt at joining the scouts failed, he wandered the city until bumping into a stranger. With newfound skill of a magical card kind, Nick grows up to be a very well known card shark and magician. When he crosses paths with a rabbit dead set on solving a case, fate will tell how much the story will change and if Lady Luck is on his side. (AU. Gambit/Twisted Fate Nick.)
1. A Twist Of Fate

"You think we'd ever trust a predator like you! You deserved to be muzzled like the rest!"

Sniffled and muffled sobbing were followed by a howl of despair echoed along the dark alleyway. A small fox kit with a orange fur had his back against the wall, his head facing the ground as tears poured out. A steel muzzle was next to him, the straps ripped apart.

"W-why..".

He sniffled and hiccuped trying to stop crying.

"Trust a predator like you!"

The fox jumped and looked up in panic hearing those words but then quickly sat back down realizing it was his imagination. The tears kept flowing down, staining his green scout uniform making them a darker shade.

Tilting his head up, the fox looked up into the dark sky, the moon shining down.

"I-I...I can't g-go home...M-mama's work on this uniform was all a waste and s-she's gonna flip...Gonna call me a baby f-for l-letting this happen."

Getting up on his feet, the kit started to walk out kicking the muzzle away in frustration. The light from the street lamps shown down on the sidewalk lighting the way. Continuing the walk, the fox let out occasional sniffles as he aimlessly traveled.

After what seemed to be hours of roaming, the kit whimpered as his legs ached. He was hungry as he rushed away from home to go to the meeting where he was set up. Looking around, he tried to see a place to maybe rest his paws.

Suddenly, a bright flash of purple and red followed by a gust of wind, spewed out of an alleyway about two blocks away. Now being a kid, the fox knew that he should avoid strange things like this.

But much like a kid, he doesn't listen to directions.

With curiosity getting the best of him, the kit ran over to the allway and peaked his head inside.

Standing in front of him was a figure wearing fancy robes that were black fitted with a gold trim. Black pants with a golden design fitted with a belt of similar color were complemented with red velvet from the undershirt. Finally fitted on the top was a triangle wide brimmed shaped hat with the sides bent upwards. Looking closer, the fox saw that a card was stuck in the band that wrapped around the hat.

But what really stuck out was the wall of the alley. It had a door shaped hole that was glowing purple red with swirls. The hole quickly shrunk, the light protruding disappearing. The figure coughed loudly before looking up, the street light showing the face. It was one of a coyote, the brown and black fur from the muzzle revealing so. What was unusual was that the mammal had glowing purple eyes with no pupils.

The fox kept staring amazed by the this new mammals that seemed so cool and strange. Trying to get a better view, he stuck out his body more. Just one little step won't hurt...

Crunch!

The fox widened his eyes looking down as his foot was on top of a empty chip bag. He then let out a yelp of fright as the coyote's pupiless eyes stared at him.

The fox turned around and ran. He didn't want to to die. He shouldn't of stayed. He should of listen to the advice about strangers.

Ping!

The fox froze in place as something hit him in the back of his head. He tried to move his legs to keep running but they didn't respond.

Panic started to settle in as he started to hyperventilate. This was it. He's going to die.

The fox stared helplessly as the coyote walked in front of him. In his paw was a card shining gold. The figure shifted the card around as he got on one knee looking at the kit.

"You're a kit. What are you doing around here at this late of an hour." the figure said in a smooth baritone voice signaling the mammal was a male.

….

"Oh right. You're frozen. Now don't run ok? I'm not gonna hurt you...Blink three times if you understand."

Calming down slightly knowing or hoping that the coyote wasn't going to hurt him, the fox blinked his eyes three times quickly.

"Alright. Perfect."

The coyote brought his paw towards the fox's face and touched his forehead.

The fox fell over instantly, but found himself in the stranger's arms.

"Don't worry. I got you."

The fox got back onto his feet and stared into the coyote's eyes.

"S-sorry m-mister..I-I saw this cool light and the woosh!" The kit said at first in a quite tone but evolved into one of excitement the fear evaporating.

The coyote laughed as a small smirk grew.

"Well...You came across me traveling. I uh...Made some mammals a little mad."

The fox tilted his head. Mad? The coyote looked friendly enough to him.

"Mad? But you don't look bad...well the eyes creep me out...No offence!"

A small scoff followed by laughter made the fox relax seeing he wasn't offended.

"Well...Let's not change the subject. What's a kit like you doing at this hour?"

The fox sighed and looked down his mood instantly deflating. The coyote noticed this and then shook his head.

"Hey. Let's go somewhere a little better. It's not safe to be here."

Grabbing the fox's paw, the stranger started to walk towards the end of the alleyway, much to the confusion of the kit. A gasp escaped his maw as they phased through the wall and he found himself in a room. It was a nicely furnitured one with a nice golden red carpet. A fireplace was integrated into the wall, soft crackling filling the room. A lamp let out a soft glow of golden light. In front of the fire were 2 chairs and a coffee table. The corner of the room had a small kitchen with a small black stove and a fridge nearby. Across was a door that had a design painted on it.

"Well. This is my home. You want anything to drink?"

The fox looked all around and then nodded.

"Soda!"

"Soda? It's...Aw whatever"

Opening the fridge, the fox grew excited seeing the coyote pull out two bottles that contained purple liquid.

Grape Soda Pop.

The coyote sat on the chair as the fox joined on the one opposite one.

"Well...I never got your name kit."

The fox looked up and blushed in embarrassment.

"S-sorry! I'm Nick Wilde!" answered the fox, revealing his name.

"Nick. Pleased to meet you. I'm Tobias. Tobias Fate."

Nick opened the bottle and drank the soda, chugging it down.

"Hold it partner! Slow down!" Tobis commanded as the fox stopped himself smiling nervously.

"Heheh..oops…"

The fox started to drink at a slower pace as Tobias watched him

"So tell me. What are you doing out in the city in the darkest hours Nick."

The fox sighed and then looked up.

"W-well...So I really wanted to be part of the scouts! They're super cool and they get to go on camping trips and learn skills. All of the scouts were prey but I thought as long as I try, they'll let me in. M-my mom s-saved up money for me in order to get me a uniform"

Tobias's gaze softened as Nick's eyes started to water.

"T-they told me to come into a warehouse and said to d-do the s-scout's pledge. T-then t-they"

Nick couldn't take it anymore as he started to cry again.

The coyote got up put a paw onto kit's back patting gently.

"Hey hey...It's ok...They can't hurt you here ok? You're safe with me…"

Nick's sobbing started to slowly go away as he nodded.

"T-thank you M-Mr. Fate….I-I don't have any f-friends b-becuase nobody l-likes f-f-foxes…"

Tobias pulled Nick into a hug sighing loudly.

"Kids….So cruel at a young age to others…"

The crying slowly turned into hiccups and whimpering, the fox starting to calm down.

"NIck?"

"Y-yes M-mr. Fate?"

"Remember those cards I had?"

"Mng….Mhm.."

Tobias inwardly sighed. He was going to regret this. But the kid was young, upset, but he just reminded so much of his own childhood. Besides. It wouldn't hurt to try.

"What if...What if I told you I can teach you that kind of stuff."

Nick's ears perked up as he gasped, pulling away his head.

"Really! You would teach me?!" A smile started to form on Nick's face.

Tobias nodded. No going back now. The kit's smile was too good.

"Mhm. But you promise me something. You don't tell any mammal. These are skills that mammals will hurt you to get."

Nick gulped nodding.

"Alright. I'm gonna give you something that you need."

The fox watched in amazement as Tobias made a fist and opened it, a deck of cards in a box appeared out of thin air with a poof of purple smoke. He tossed it in the air and it landed on the tip of his claw spinning. The top of the box opened as cards flew out. Instead of falling to the floor like Nick thought, all the cards started to spin in a circle above the fox's head.

"Anything you want on the back? Design?"

Nick nodded.

"I-I want it to be stars! No wait! Comets! No no!...Uhhhh...Iunno but something green! That's my favorite color."

The fox watched as the coyote's blue eyes started to glow, the cards starting to spin faster turning into a blur.

Finally, the cards all started to spread out on the table face down. Nick let out a gasp seeing the design. It was a green background with beautiful stars and comets. A moon was in the center colored in with gold.

"Like it?"

Nick nodded.

"It looks great! How did you do that thing!"

Tobias smiled.

"Magic"

Nick reached to grab the cards but Tobias shook his head.

"Not yet. You need to get accepted."

"Accepted? But it's just cards."

Tobias shook his head.

"Not just cards. They have this energy inside of em. They get enchanted and then bind to a user. I hope that the spirits like you Nick because if they don't. Well you're going to forget all of this and I will have to leave."

Another gulp as the fox nodded.

"S-so what do I have to do?"

Tobias couldn't answer as the cards started to move around on the table.

Nick gasped.

The cards spelled out 'Nick' on the table as Tobias let out a sigh of relief.

"Looking good so far. Keep still."

NIck watched in amazement was the cards then formed into different shapes and designs before flying into the air in a single file line. They danced around the fox like waves and pulses.

"W-what d-do I do now?"

Tobias shrugged.

"Let the cards do its things. Give it time. "

The cards continued to spin before they flew towards the desk on top of each other.

A deck of green cards.

"C-can I... Ah!"

The cards started to glow a bright green before a flash of light blinded the fox. Nick felt sick in the stomach as he felt like the world was spinning. As the light faded, the last thing he saw was the deck of cards in his paws still retaining the green glow.

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Hello! This is a start of a brand new fanfiction. I had this idea in my head for a while so i decided to make a chapter to see if I liked it or if you guys enjoy it. If you guessed correctly, Tobias Fate is a name of character. Nick with magical cards like Gambit and TF was something I thought would be cool so i decided to give it a shot. Enjoy the future comings of a foxy card shark.

I mean it works. Nick as a smooth talker and using his cards to win "fairly" and as well as performing magic. Alright.

Stranger Danger.


	2. Small Trial

Nick slowly opened his eyes and yawned.

Man that was a crazy dream.

Dream?!

NIck quickly sat up and looked around finding himself in his bed.

Just a dream.

Nick groaned and then gasped seeing a deck of cards on his nightstand, a note written on the top card. He scrambled to the cards and read it.

'Hey Nick Wilde. Congrats on becoming part of the card sharks. The spirits have taken a liking to you and sense great power and potential in you. Meet me at the place of the beginnings. Consider it your first test. Signed -T.F'

The fox couldn't believe it. It wasn't a dream!

Jumping out of bed with new found energy, he reached for the deck but gasped in surprise as the deck poofed from the nightstand into his paw with an audible "poof".

"W-whoa!"

"Nick? Is that you sweety?" a soft female voice sounded.

"M-mom!"

Nick, hiding the cards under the covers, ran out of his room to find his mom staring at him with a look of relief. Jumping into her arms, he started to tear up hugging her tightly as she hugged him back.

"I-I was s-so worried my little kit….You were gone the entire night and I tried to look for you" she stuttered out as a wave of guilt hit Nick hard.

"M-momma...I'm sorry….I-I was so upset...t-they o-other scouts...t-they…"

He started to cry again as the vixen growled knowing they rejected her son.

"There there...It's ok...Mammals just can't see that we're trying to fight in...Don't let that get to your head Nicky. There are good mammals and bad mammals. Don't let it taint your heart from what these kids did to you."

Nick nodded and smiled as the vixen wiped away his tears.

"Now...I don't approve that you snuck back into your room without telling me but...be sure to warn me ok? I'm here for you."

Nick hugged his mom once more before looking at his dirty uniform.

"Don't worry about it sweety. I'll make some adjustments to it so you can wear it regularly. Take it off and leave it on the couch."

The kit nodded as he went back to his room talking off the uniform. Reaching into a small drawer, Nick pulled out a green t-shirt that was much too big for him. Paired with it were baggy cargo shorts that had patches on it.

Walking out, he placed the uniform on the coach as his mother told him.

"I'm going out to the park mom! I wanna go exploring!"

"Alright Nick. I have to go to my job soon. The keys will be in the same spot when you want to come home. Food is on the table when you're hungry."

The small fox ran out the door and went down the steps leaving his apartment home behind.

Was he missing something?

Nick stared at his paw and then smiled thinking of the deck of cards.

Poof!

The deck of cards appeared in his paw as he giggled excited pocketing it.

"Where it all began?...Where is that." Nick through to himself, frowning as he tried to think.

Nick passed the busy mammals trying to get to work. Weaving through the legs of the taller adults, the fox finally crossed the street arriving at the park. Nobody was there and it was a place where Nick came to think. Kids don't come here until the afternoon so the fox always came here to be alone.

The fox kit sat on the swing set by himself as he swung forward and back.

"Began..?...Oh come on Nick think! I wanna pass this dumb test and learn more magic!"

Pumping his legs forward and back, he started to gain height as the wind rushed against his face.

NIck looked around and sighed trying to think of something. Anything.

"Darn it…"

He took the cards from his pocket and stared at it hoping it would give him an answer.

"Come on...Do something...Oops!"

As he swung back, a card flew off the top of the deck. From a breeze, the card started to fly away.

"Hey! Come back!" Nick yelled out, jumping off the swing and landing on his feet. The fox ran after the card keeping his head up, completely oblivious he was pushing the mammals in front of him away who would either yell at him or simply ignore him seeing it was a kit. Finally, Nick saw the card slowly start to float down onto the ground. Panting loudly from all the running, he picked it up and added it back to the deck.

"Finally….Whoa…"

Nick starred up in shock as he was now in a unfamiliar place. In Front of him was a tall pillar made of marble with a plaque attached to it.

"H-here is the marker of where the settlers set foot into claiming it for their own. The name of this place was called Zootropolis but was later changed to Zootopia as years passed." said the fox reading it off before smacking his head with his paw.

"Of course! The beginning! This is where Zootopia started."

….

"Now what?"

Nick was about to look around but he felt something grab his shoulder. Turning around, Nick smiled brightly.

"Mr. Fate!"

In Front of the fox was a familiar coyote who wore his fancy clothes and the iconic hat on his head.

"Congrats on passing the test Nick. I managed to return you home so I'm glad you're ok."

Nick nodded but then tilted his head in confusion.

"How did you know where I lived? ANd how did you get me back in my room without my mom knowing?

Tobias smirked and tipped up his hat showing of his eyes.

"Magic"

Nick rolled his eyes but then smiled in excitement.

"Oh oh! Mr. Fate look at this!"

Nick opened his paw and then closed his eyes.

The coyote let his jaw drop as the deck of green cards appeared in the fox's paw with an audible poof.

Now Tobias knew that was a very simple thing that all card sharks should be able to use but without practice and just getting the magic powers? That's nothing short of amazing.

"That's...That's amazing Nick! Being able to that without any training is great. I guess the spirits really did feel something great in you"

Nick blushed at the compliment as he rubbed the back of his head smiling.

"Thanks Mr. Fate! So what are we doing today?"

The coyote beckoned the fox to follow him as he walked towards the pillar. Nick watched as Tobias simpled phased through the pillar disappearing inside.

The fox walked toward the pillar and nervously pressed his paw against it. Feeling it was solid only made him more worried.

"J-just like the alley wall...Just gotta.."

Nick held his breath and walked forward toward the pillar. As he approached, he prepared to smack against the stone closing his eyes.

Feeling nothing, the fox opened his eyes and gasped at the sight in front of him.

The room had a poker table with chairs around it. Against the back of the room was a bar filled with drinks of all sorts, stools in front of the bar itself with pillow cushions. On the other side of the room was a range of some sort with dummies of different shapes and sizes pinned against the wall. There were also smaller targets like for darts. Finally to top it all off, there were two beanbag cushions.

"Welcome to the training ground. This is where I will teach you everything. This is the start of your journey of being a card shark."

Tobias raised his hands dramatically as cards flew around his head.

Nick raised one paw in question.

"Yes Nick?"

"What's a card shark?"

The coyote groaned and then slapped his forehead.

"I knew I was forgetting something. Card sharks are mammals that have been blessed by the spirits of Lady Luck. The spirits search your soul and heart to see if you are worth of its blessing. The magic we do? Cards."

Tobias stuck out his paw with his palm up and used his other paw to wave over it. A card appeared showing an ace of spades.

"Now you know that the cards are enchanted. But what do they do?"

The coyote flipped the card and let it dance through between his fingers before showing it back to the fox who wowed seeing that it was now three of clubs.

"You see they aren't just for show. They contain power."

The card started to glow as it changed color into a shiny gold, the design going from black into gold as well.

"There is a book that details what exactly you can do to the cards but not all ways have been discovered.

Tobias spun the card at its corner on the tip of his claw. It slowly began change color from a shiny gold to a blood red. Flicking it up, it spun in the air changing into blue before finally the coyote snatched it out of the air clapping it in both of his paws.

Opening his paws, NIck let out a gasp as the card was back to the original ace of spades.

"You see Nick. Pseudo magicians use illusions to give the feeling of magic.

Tobias snapped his fingers as a deck of cards appeared in his paw. He then fanned the cards as they all stuck out face down.

"Pick a card Nick."

The fox made a move to grab one but then grabbed another.

"Memorize it Nick."

The coyote shuffled the deck as Nick stared at his selected card.

King Of Hearts.

"Now when you're done, I want you to place it on top of the deck right here"

Tobias tapped the top of the deck as Nick carefully placed it on top.

"Perfect. Now I'm going to shuffle the cards."

Nick watched as Tobias began to shift the cards around humming a tune. At first it was simple overhand shuffle, him taking parts of the deck and moving them to the front. Then it transitioned to him holding a deck and 'shooting out' parts of it into his other paw. Finally, the coyote stopped and then smiled.

"So I have no idea where you card is, but I'm going to make it appear at the top."

Tobias blew at the top of the deck before snapping his paw.

"This your card Nick?"

The coyote confidently lifted the top card to reveal to the exited fox….

"It's gonna be the!...Queen Of Spades? That's not my card Mr. Fate I think you messed up."

The coyote looked at the card and then shook his head.

"What was your card?"

Nick giggled loudly "King Of Hearts!"

Tobias nodded closing his eyes deep in thought.

"Well that means you picked the wrong card."

The fox recoiled in shock.

"Eh?! You told me to pick a random one!"

The coyote shrugged.

"It's ok Nick. I'll just have to fix it…"

Tobias took the card into his palm and used his free finger to rub the card. Nick watched as Tobias rubbed it before showing it to Nick.

"W-what!"

There, in his palm was the King Of Hearts.

Nick took the card and stared at it in amazement.

"You see Nick. That's cheap tricks. I used illusion in order to fool you. I use that stuff to make money in bars. You wanna see real magic?"

Nick nodded excitedly, still confused about the trick.

"Great. You see magic isn't just party tricks and fun."

Tobias made a fist and then opened it, revealing a silver button.

"You see we strive to keep the magic safe and as well as protect its secrets. We also try to help those who cannot help themselves because it is our duty to help the lesser fortunate."

The button started to shake before it floated into the air. Nick watched as it spun around before it floated towards him.

"Nick. We are not the good mammals nor the evil ones. Magic is not some kind of fountain that you can take from, it's a wild flowing fire that courses through your veins. Althgouth...the spirits love mischief so if you ever want to cause some trouble. We don't play fair in games. We cheat in poker and all sorts of gambling because that's our own little card game. That's why I got in trouble since they think I'm cheating. Which I am, but they have no proof...I'm getting off topic. Nick. Do you promise to uphold the true ideals of a Card Shark. To never play a fair game of cards, to defend those who cannot defend themselves, and to always cause mischief. And most importantly, to protect the art of true magic against those who wish to harm it. "

Nick puffed his chest and said in a confidenty yet shaky voice.

"I-I do!"

Tobias smiled as the button then started to morph and glow. As it dissipated, the button was now a silver brooch that had a design of 4 playing cards, each being the 4 suits of aces.

"Where this. Until you are done training with me, you must wear that."

The kit excitedly took the brooch and pinned it against his shirt, his tail wagging in excitement.

"So are you gonna teach me actual magic!?"

Tobias smiled, a dangerous glint in his eyes.

"By the time I'm done with you, you're going to regret asking"

Nick couldn't help but feel a sense of dread wash over him as he started to sweat.

"Oh crud.."

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Hey! So of you guys really enjoy the idea of Nick being a gambit card master with magic so I'm going to continue to write out more chapters. The next chapter will be a small time skip so we can meet up with our grumpy fennec fox and how they meet. Essentially, becoming a Card Shark is not being a super hero or being a villian. It's more of a cause trouble, keep the magic safe from those who want to abuse it, and help those in need. Not it's not good good since Card Sharks love scamming, stealing, and gambling

Ah you'll see how it turns out. Enjoy this 2k word chapter.


	3. Time Skip and Finnick

"I'm gonna call."

"...Fold…"

"Raise two hundred"

Sigh.

"Call"

"Call for me"

"Folding mine."

…

A paw slammed down on the table as poker chips rattled the table.

In a bar somewhere in downtown Zootopia, a group of mammals were playing a game of poker in a dimly lit bar. Sitting around a round table, six mammals were sitting around the table. The mammal who slammed the table was a timber wolf who tossed his cards on the table.

"Fucking hell. I'm bust. I got trash cards." The wolf angrily got up as he took his cigar and extinguished in the ashtray before leaving the table, walking towards the bar to drink.

Make that five mammals.

The game continued for a while as soft violin music played in the bar, the tune coming from the old radio.

"Alright. Let's go." said a gruff voice, the mammal fiddling with the cards in his hand. Looking at the poker table, the cards revealed are a King Of Spades, Eight of Clubs, Nine of Diamonds, and finally a Queen of Spades. There still one card face down as the dealer, a tiger wearing a dress shirt and bow tie, held a deck of cards patiently waiting.

"Sir. It is your turn."

A small figure was fiddling around with a poker chip making it go through his fingers.

"Sir." The tiger repeated getting the attention of the stranger.

"Oh! Sorry! I'm kinda new to this thingy" A small voice said as the dealer nodded looking at his watch.

Looking up, it showd a face of a young fox no older than 13 a smug grin forming on his muzzle.

While the gamblers around the table wore suits and formal clothes, the preteen wore a green t-shirt and ripped cargo pants. On the t-shirt was a familiar brooch that shined in the light.

Nick Wilde.

The fox stared at the table, having to stand on top of the stool to see since he was too short.

"I uhh...I wanna throw some chips in!" Nick exclaimed, throwing out four blue chips and two green ones.

The tiger caught all of them and stacked them neatly on top of each other.

"Mr. Wilde raised the pot by two thousand, two hundred dollar.. That exact amount to call and continue to the final card"

There was a silence before the others tossed in their chips confident/or not, in their cards.

"Very well." The dealer said as he flipped over the last card.

Three of hearts.

It was silent before a collect calls of "check" went around the table until it came to the fox.

"Mr. Wilde. It is your move" The dealer said again.

Nick looked up, a blue chip in between his teeth.

"Imma put more. Iunno cause I feel like it."

Tossing in a two reds and a blue, the fox yawned and stuck out his tongue. Now many of the mammals at first didn't take the fox seriously. They only let him in since he had the money and they thought they would easily beat him.

"Call."

"Calling"

"Fold"

A jaguar tossed his cards away as he sighed, upset in having to fold.

The tiger looked around before he nodded.

"Show cards please. Starting with you Mr. Ricardo."

A deer nodded flipping over his cards.

King of Diamonds and Nine of Spades.

"Ricardo with two pair. Mr. Denzil please go."

A lion confidently smirked, showing his cards.

Queen of Hearts and Queen of Spades.

"Denzil with three of a kind. Mr. Wilde if you please."

Nick let out a laugh as he threw down his cards.

"Suck on this!"

A Ten of Clubs and Jack Of Spades.

"Wilde with straight. Mr. Wilde wins the hand."

The deer sighed loudly as the lion angrily glared at the fox who happily reached over and pulled in his chips with the help of the tiger.

 **But as you can see, it really backfired.**

The game went on with the fox continuously winning hand after hand. Finally, the game was over with the rest of the players bust, Nick let out a giggle putting the chips in a sack humming.

"That was fun guys! Thanks for letting me play with you big mammals!"

The lion tapped the table getting the fox's attention.

"Yeah?"

"How old are you kid? This your first time?"

Nick looked up and then counted on his fingers.

"This is my fifth time. Also my fifth win! I'm thirteen years old why?"

The lion nodded and walked over to the bar.

"Pretty talented for your age. Ain't it illegal at your age?"

The fox nodded.

"Yeah it is but so is this bar so nothing much can be said!"

Nick put the sack over his shoulder and walked over to the bar where he cashed in the chips receiving the stacks of cash.

"Thank you! I'm gonna be on my way now!"

The preteen yelped as the bar doors slammed opened revealing three very pissed off looking hyenas all wearing blue suits and red ties.

"WHERE IS THE FOX?!" Yelled out one, holding a bent pipe.

All eyes from the bar turned to Nick who laughed nervously.

"Hello! I was just about to leave!" Nick said as he started to put the money in the sack.

"You aint going nowhere you dirty little cheater"

The hyena in the middle cracked his neck as he started to walk towards Nick, a rusty blade in his paw.

"Me? Cheating? I would never do such a thing!"

The trio snarled as they charged the fox.

"Uhh! Uhhh! Fine You Leave me no choice!"

Nick closed his eyes as he stuck out his paw, a deck of green cards appearing.

"I think you need to cool down Mr. Hyena!"

The cards disappeared leaving one in NIck's paw. The singular card started to glow a light blue as Nick flicked his wrist, the projectile flying towards the wild dogs.

"What the hell is that supposed to Ah!"

The hyena felt himself stop as he looked down seeing his feet frozen onto the floor with ice forming.

"W-what the!" he exclaimed trying to free his legs using his paws.

The other two paid no attention as they kept charging forward.

Nick snapped his fingers and opened his paw, two cards appearing between his fingers.

"And you two! Need to just stop!"

With the cards glowing gold, he threw them out as they both hit the two remaining hyenas, their weapons dropping to the floor. They were stunned as they couldn't move at all.

Brushing his shoulders off, the fox grabbed the sack and giggled.

"Bye bye! That's my magic show!"

Cards of green started to circle around the fox's feet and with a flash of light, he was gone without a trace.

The bar was silent except for the struggling hyena who had his feet frozen on the floor.

"That...that kid is something else…" The dealer finished breaking the silence.

Two thumps were heard as the the stunned hyenas fell over dazed.

Two huge rhinos picked them up and dragged the last one, who finally was able to move his feet with the ice melting, outside the bar and kicked them out. The music resumed as the patrons inside continued on trying to figure what just happened.

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Nick opened his eyes and found himself back in the training room standing on a red rug. Looking up, he saw Tobias sitting on a bar chair drinking a glass full of golden liquid. Something he called brandy.

"Hi Mr. Fate! I'm back!"

The coyote looked over and smiled patting the seat next to him.

"Great job Nick. Run into any trouble?"

The fox nodded as he put the sack down sitting on the stool.

"Yeah. Some hyenas weren't too happy that I won against them. Said I cheated. I got away by using my cards so I'm ok" He finished with seeing a worried look in the coyote.

"Sounds good Nick. How's your mom doing?"

Nick perked up and smiled.

"She's doing good. We're going to be able to find house with the money we're getting. She's still questioning me getting this high paying job at my age without her knowing any details."

Tobias nodded.

"Well she's right to be suspicious. This is against the rules...The law actually. How is the book I gave you? Learning more about your cards?"

Nick reached into his ripped pants and pulled out a brown book with golden inscribed letters.

"Yep! I've been reading it. Lot's of cool stuff. I tried out the stun and ice card today. Worked like a charm."

The fox snapped his fingers as a card appeared on his paw. It started to glow a light blue. Focusing more, the fox grunted as ice started to form on it.

"Alright alright Nick. Looks good!"

Tobias put a paw on the fox as Nick let out a sigh, the card disappearing.

"Well I have nothing else planned today. Why don't you go explore the city. Oh yeah. Why are you wearing those clothes? You can wear better one."

Nick looked at his ripped pants and smirked.

"If I wore fancy clothes, they expect me to be good and know what I'm doing!"

A laugh escaped from the coyote as he raised his glass.

"Very clever. You're doin great Nick Wilde. The spirits have chosen well and you've grown so much. Your next test is going to be in a few days so be sure to be prepared on the theory of cards"

Nick groaned loudly "Card Theory? Urghh…."

Tobias laughed as the fox moved the sack behind the bar and snapped his fingers, the bag disappearing. Nick reached into his pocket as his stomach grumbled.

"I'm hungry...Mom's not gonna be home since she's at work...I'm glad she only needs to do one shift since I'm making money."

Cards swirled around his feet as Nick closed his eyes disappearing in a flash of light.

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Appearing in an empty alleyway, the fox walked out thinking about what to eat going down the sidewalk.

"Pizza Hut doesn't sound too bad….Bug ...Snarlbucks…"

"Where's our money midget!"

Nick's ears tilted as he looked down an alleyway. There inside was a group of bears with one of them holding a knife in one paw while holding a fennec fox against the wall with the other. All of the bears were armed with blades as they glared at the singular fox who was currently snarling.

"I aint got shit for you guys! I can't give you guys four hundred grand in a month!"

The bears chuckled before the blade came closer, the fennec fox gulping as it slightly cut into him.

"Our patience is running thin. That shrew can't save you forever. If you join us, maybe we'll give you more time"

"My loyalty is already made Berston! He saved my ass while you guys did nothing!"

Before Berston could say anything, the fennec fox spat on his face. A collective ohhh came from the rest of the bears as the fennec fox smirked.

"Alright Odair! You gonna die today!"

"Stop right there!" a voice interrupted.

All eyes went up as they saw a...

Small fox.

"Scram kid before you see something you don't wanna see" Berston said as he scoffed turning away.

"Nuh uh! You put that fennec fox down you big bully!" the fox yelled out.

Berston sighed loudly before tossing the fennec fox to another bear who put the fox in a headlock.

"Kid. I said. Get. Lost." Berston growled out as he slowly walked towards the small fox who smiled confidently which annoyed the bear.

"Nah..It should be you getting lost. Asking for that much money in that little time? More fur than brain huh?"

The bears started to laugh at the insult making the leader angry.

Berston snarled.

"Testing me patience boy. Get. Lost."

Odair starred in panic as the fox simply giggled.

"Kid get the fuck out here. This hunk of fur gonna hurt ya!" Odair yelled out before grunting as he was punched in the gut.

Berston nodded pointing his knife at the fennec fox.

"He's right ya know. Better ge-"

He couldn't finish the sentence as he watch the fox pull out a deck of cards. Shuffling it infront of him, the cards then folded outwards as the fox smiled.

"Pick a card mister! If you pick a king of spades, I'm going to kick your butt!"

The bear smirked and decided to play along.

"Sure thing." He reached for a card and pulled it out looking at it.

Jack of hearts.

"Look. Now get out of my sight."

The fox shook his head angering the bear.

"Look at it again!"

The bear raised a brow before staring at the card again.

King of spades.

"W-what the fuck?"

Berston watch as the card started to glow orange and before he could say anything else, it exploded sending the bear skidding backwards on the alleyway floor tossing up trash into the air.

Everyone watched in shock as the fox walked out of the smoke, his eyes glowing a dangerous green. One bear raised a wrench and ran towards the fox but with a flick of the wrist, the bear screamed in pain as a card hit him in the chest setting his clothes on fire.

The bears backed away from the small fox as they started to panic. Their boss just got knocked out form an explosion and another just got set on fire.

The fox looked up as he smiled.

"Now. Let the guy go. Or I'll kick your butt too!"

At first, nobody moved too afraid or too shocked.

Four cards appeared in between the fox's fingers as he readied to throw them.

"Fuck stop! We're letting him go!" said the bear holding Odair who dropped the fennec fox.

Odair dusted himself off and walked towards the kid who smiled.

"Hey! Glad you're ok! Let me take care of these bears!"

Throwing out the cards, the bears screamed as gas formed where the cards hit. One by one, they all fell asleep knocked out.

Odair just watched in amazement as the fox simply giggled and walked out the ally way.

"Hey hey wait up!"

Odair ran up to his savoir and tilted his head.

"Who are you?"

The fox shrugged and turned his head back.

"I'm just a card shark. Sometimes. I'm a hero just for fun"

"I mean your name fool!" Odair growled out, cursing at him being rude to his savoir.

"Well I'm Nick! You wanna get some food with me?" responded the fox, turning around fully with a smile on his face.

"You wanna eat with me? You just met me!"

Nick shrugged.

"I'll pay."

That sold it for Odair who followed the Nick out, leaving the bears behind.

The duo were now sitting together eating pizza with crickets on top.

"So your full name Nick Wilde? Thanks for saving my ass kid"

Nick nodded and chewed on his slice.

"No problfmg!" he said muffled by the pizza which he swallowed.

"You look young kid. How old are ya?"

"Thirteen"

"Huh…"

"You look you're five"

"Hey! I'm just short! I'm sixteen!"

"What's a sixteen year old doing messing with gangs like the bears?"

…..

Odair sighed as he nodded.

"Fair point. Reason I am is that...Don't tell the cops this but I work for some guy named Mr. Big. My parents abandoned me so I wandered around Tundra Town trying to survive when this limo came up next to me. This shrew took me in and raised me. Hehe gave me the childhood that I never got. In return, I do some work for him."

Nick made a continue motion with his paw as Odair sighed.

"I'm a bouncer. I know I don't look like it but I can whoop a lot of ass. These fucking bears got pissed that I didn't let them in the casino and that I beat their "leader's" ass so they ganged up on me and told me that I had to pay them back in a week to compensate. Now I could beat one up, but the whole gang? I can't do that. So I tried to get Mr. Big to help me out which he did! He promised that I would get protection but as you can see. The guy who Mr. Big promised to protect me got bribed. So I thought I was gonna get stabbed when you showed up so thanks for saving my ass."

Nick smiled happily as he finished his burger, a cricket stuck between his teeth.

"It was nothing! It's my duty as a card shark to help those in need!"

Odair raised a brow.

"Card shark? The fuck is that?"

"Oh yeah! I'm a guy who can do real magic! You saw those cards? That was magic that I was blessed with. My teacher taught me that. But not everyone can do it. The spirits have to accept you first."

Odair raised a brow obviously confused but shrugged.

"I'm gonna believe you because I saw you throw out those cards like...Geez not gonna lie it was pretty cool."

"Thanks! I've been practicing for a while now…..Are these friends of yours?"

Odair looked up and saw two polar bears wearing black suits both with a looks of seriousness.

"Yeah...Uh….Brusilov...Stephan. This kid saved my ass. So don't do anything ye?"

The polar bears stared at Nick and then back to Odair.

"Da. We understand. Still we must bring both back to boss house since he wants to see you. Mammal who was assigned to protect you was caught so no worry. " said the one on the left with a thick Russian accent.

The fennec fox stared at Nick.

"They won't hurt us. They're with me anyways. So you up to see my family? You already got this far and saved me. It's the least I can do." Odair said as Nick smiled shrugging.

"Why not! Just promise not to hurt me or I'll have to some magic!"

The polar bears walked them over to a black limo where they put the two in the back and shut the door. Nick was in awe as he looked around the fancy car.

"Wow! This is so cool! I've never been in a limo before"

The fennec fox nodded but stuck out his paw.

"Hey kid. Thanks for saving my ass. Well I didn't tell you my full name so I'm gonna give it to you. The name's Finnick Odair. Most mammals call me Odair but...I want you to call me Finnick."

Nick grabbed the paw and smiled again.

"Finnick? Heheh! We share the same name kinda! Must be destiny" Nick said as the fennec fox smirked opening the compartment in the chair pulling out two bottles of soda.

"You up for some drinks?"

"Do you even have to ask? Thanks buddy! So are we like friends?"

Finnick smiled and then recoiled hearing a word that was never directed to him.

'Friend'

Now he was family with everyone with Mr. Big but he never got to meet someone and befriend them outside of it.

"Hehe...Friend? Why not. Thanks buddy."

Nick smirked and looked calm on the outside, but on the inside he was freaking out. He had a friend finally!

The rest of the trip was the two talking about things they enjoy and as well as what their favorite foods were. Laughter filled the limo as the two started to tell jokes and stories. The limo kept moving on as it drove all the way into Tundra Town. Snow began to fall as the sun was blocked out by the clouds. The two didn't mind as the limo turned into a secret entrance in a tunnel heading towards an ominous looking mansion where a certain shrew was waiting...

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Hello! I got a little carried away with this chapter and accidentally wrote 3k words. I'm sure you guys wont' be too made anyways. This is AU so i thought I would spice things up and have FInnick be taken in by Mr. Big. Anyways, thank you so much for the support you guys have shown for the story! Thanks again and keep reading!


	4. Meetings

Finally, the limo arrived in front of a giant mansion fitted with polar bears guarding the entrance. The door of the limo swung open as Stephen and Brusilov escorted them inside. Nick let out a gasp admiring the interior seeing fancy chandeliers, nicely crafted and engraved wood. The two bears walked them upstairs and opened the doors. Letting the two foxes stay, they closed the doors behind them with an audible bang. In Front of the two fox was a red rug with a desk behind it. To the surprise of Nick, ice was frosting inside the room with snow inside yet a fireplace was crackling with a picture of a shrew above it who seemed very old. Three polar bears were standing around acting as guards.

"Finnick?"

…..

"Yeah Nick?"

…..

"This is scaring me"

…..

"Just don't disrespect him. Mr. Big is a nice guy and really understanding. Just follow my lead."

Nick tried to say something, but the door in front of him opened. A giant polar bear walked through hold his paws in front of him. The fox felt intimidated as the bear eyed him with a death glare that simple said.

'Try me. You die'

Gulping, the fox wanted to use his cards to warp out but he really wanted to meet Finnick's adopted father. The polar bear sat down on the chair before putting his paws out placing a smaller swivel chair on the table and used his finger to turn it around revealing a shrew with eyebrows covering his eyes and a black tuxedo fitted with a red bowtie.

"Finnick. It's great to see you back in one piece.. I have made sure that little bodyguard was dealt with accordingly for leaving you behind." said the shrew in an italian accent.

The fennec fox bowed his head down and walked towards the shrew kissing his ring before walking back.

"Thank you father. I was in big trouble until this fox saved my tail."

The polar bears looked at Nick and the shrew inclined his head to stare at the smaller fox. Nick waved and then walked forward doing the same thing that Finnick did as he started to sweat.

"I-I...It was no big deal! I saw h-he was in trouble and decided to help him since I don't like thugs who do that!"

Nick smiled nervously as the shrew let out a small chuckle.

"What is your name young one?"

Nick straightened up and smiled.

"My name is Nick Wilde! I'm a card shark!"

The shrew's eyebrows raised showing his small black eyes.

"Card shark?...That is something I've never heard in a long long time….Tell me Nicky. Do you have a magical deck of cards?"

The fox nodded as he extended his arm and opened his paw. A deck of cards appeared as the shrew nodded.

"Yes...You are truly one. Thank you for saving my son's life. Our family is in debt for your act of kindness...Is there anything you want in compensation boy?"

Nick put a paw to his chin and then nodded.

"Yeah! I want to be Finick's friend!"

Finnick widened his eyes as the shrew started to...smile?

"You want to be my son's friend? Why not riches? Power?"

Nick shrugged.

"I never had a friend before...I'm not sure if I'm supposed to ask their parent but I don't want to risk it. Besides..I make a lot of money now and I'm not very good with leading. I'm just a card shark who causes trouble and is a hero for fun!"

Finnick's eyes started to water as he looked away. Years of being alone and without friends. Many mammals avoided him to his connection with Mr. Big and his snappy foul attitude.

Nick turned and pulled the crying fox into his arms.

"H-hey! Don't cry! Did I do something wrong?"

Mr. Big sighed and inwardly smiled.

"Nicky...You have a big heart. The family is always here for you with open arms. If you need anything. Do not hesitate to call us."

Nick smiled sheepishly.

"I-I don't have a phone. I was planning too but setting up the phone line and getting a number is a little too hard for my mom and me."

A polar instantly walked through the door holding a tray on his paw. Lowering himself, Nick found a touch screen M-Phone on top.

"Consider it our first gift Nicky. Line is good. Data is infinite and our contact is right there. Don't be afraid to stop by. Maybe now Finnick can be with his friend instead of fighting off angry mammals trying to get into our casino."

Nick's ears perked up.

"Casino? Can I go?" Nick gave puppy dog eyes to the shrew.

"You're a card shark. You'll make my casinos go bankrupt."

The fox stuck out his tongue and looked away.

"Actually" The shrew started getting Nick's attention.

"You can go to a casino. But perhaps you'd prefer my rivals. You keep winning and I'll give you protection as well as transportation. Do we have a deal?"

Nick smiled and nodded.

"I don't need protection nor the transportation. I prefer to keep my head low but I'd gladly take Finnick with me! I can protect him!"

Mr. Big nodded and stared at Finnick.

"Maybe Nick can be your bodyguard and your friend? Sound good?"

Finnick nodded automatically as Nick gave a thumbs up.

"Thanks Mr. Big! Finnick? You wanna hang out at the arcade tomorrow near the Snarlbucks on First Street?"

The fennec fox pulled away from Nick and nodded wiping his tears away.

"T-thanks m-man. I'll meet you there. I'll pay for food this time. You wanna ride home?"

Nick giggled and shook his head as he put his paws together, cards glowing green circling around his feet.

"Don't need it! I have my destiny gate!"

With that and a flash of green light, the fox was gone only leaving behind one card. Finnick picked it up and smiled as he showed it to the shrew.

It was a picture of Nick with his paws together and Finnick next to him. It also showed Mr. Big sitting on his chair with the polar bears around the room in a bird's eyes perspective.

"How did he do that?" Finnick asked as he looked at the card in amazement.

Mr. Big let out a hearty laugh before looking at his adopted son.

"Magic Finnick. Magic."

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The Next Day…

Nick sighed as he filled in a bubble on his paper.

"Stupid test…" muttered the fox as he bubbled in another.

'If a card is traveling at 25 miles per hour and the wind is blowing against it at 3 miles per hour, calculate the circumference of the sun.'

….

Nick's eye twitched as he put a paw on his forehead.

"Are you joking…?"

The fox circled a random one before moving on trying to finish the test. He looked up at the clock and bit his lip seeing it was almost 12 P.M. The time that he agreed to meet with Finnick at the arcade.

"Ok! I'm done Mr. Fate!"

Nick got up from his seat and handed the paper over to the coyote who was looking at his cellphone.

"Mhm..Let me see if you passed." Tobias said as he checked it over.

The fox squirmed in his seat as he patiently waited.

Tobias finally put the paper down and smiled.

"You were one point away from not getting a passing score. But your answer from the sun was correct giving you what you need to pass. Maybe Lady Luck was smiling on you Nick."

Nick grinned as he let out a whoop of joy. Before he could warp out, Tobias motioned for him to closer.

"You're in a rush today. What's going on? Everything ok with your mom?"

Nick groaned. He forgot to tell coyote about his new friend.

"I'm fine! I actually saved someone and now we're friends!"

Tobias raised a brow as he sighed.

"Tell me what happened."

After explaining the events, Tobias closed his eyes as he shook his head.

"Oh Nick... I'm glad you found a new friend. Mr. Big is a name that I recognize...I'll look more into it later but enjoy being with Finnick. Having allies like this is exactly what you need and I'm very certain you are more than capable of protecting him."

Nick smiled and then waved goodbye and with a card swirl followed by a flash of light, he was gone.

The coyote smiled and then made a card appear on the table showing the map of Zootopia.

"Hmm...What bar should I hit up next…"

Tobias smiled and then got off the stool standing. Adjusting his hat, he smirked as cards of blue, red, and yellow rotated around his feet. Pulling his hat down, he disappeared without a flash or a trace. The cards disappeared and Tobias was off to ruin more mammals in a poker game yet again.

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Hello again! Thank you so much for the support for the story! I see that many of you enjoy the idea of Nick being a card shark so I will continue to write out more! Again, thank you so much for the positive reviews, it really makes my day. Goodbye!


	5. Dark Arts

"Come on! So not fair! That move is so broken!"

Super Potato. One of the most popular arcades in Zootopia due to its great selection of all different types of games.

"No! You just gotta throw tech! Hahah! I got ya!"

Two foxes were currently sitting on stools in front of screen. In their paws were boxes that had a joystick and eight buttons. The game they are playing?

Street Fighter V.

Finnick moved his stick down, diagonally back, back, and pressed a button.

On the screen, a black wolf wearing a white gi with a black belt around his waist and a long red headband tied around the canin's head, started to spin like a top with one leg sticking out and the other downwards but floating above the air.

'Tatsumaki Senpukyaku!'

Nick simply held down a button and then moved his stick up, down, back, forward while pressing a button, then back, forward while holding another.

Looking back at the screen, a german shepherd with a white military buttoned up shirt with with a blue tie, dark sunglasses, and a tall flat top haircut. The dog blocked all the kicked before jumping up and coming down with a punch. Following that was a another punch hitting the wolf's solar plexus before a wave of yellow light hit the fighter. A sound of pure energy was made as the german shepherd pulled his arms back.

'Sonic! Hurricane!'

A yellow sonic boomed formed as it the hit the wolf a number of times before slowly falling over on his back.

The german shepherd simply took a comb out from his pocket and adjusted his hair combing it.

"Urgh!" Finnick yelled out in frustration being beaten yet again.

Nick let out a chuckle, pulling a soda can towards his maw before taking a sip.

The two have been playing a bunch of games together having the time of their lives. They switched from different games to play as Nick and Finnick went head to head winning against each other.

Nick and Finnick jumped off their seats leaving the fight sticks behind. As they wandered around looking to play more, Nick was about to suggest another game when a group of familiar bears surrounded them.

"Can we help you?" Finnick asked as he eyed all of them, cautiously watching them.

"Yeah you messed with me yesterday remember?"

Nick stared and then giggled pointing at the bear who had bandages on his face and body.

"It's you! Uh...Blaston? Right?"

The bear snarled loudly.

"My name is Berston you idiot! I'm here to finish what I started."

Finnick growled loudly.

"Not now Berston. I'm trying to enjoy my day with my friend alright? So leave us alone and go do something else. We're gonna go play some Tekken"

Berston looked surprised that the two foxes were just blowing him off as he let out a frustrated growl.

Nick and Finnick pushed their way past the other bears as Berston's eye bagan to twitch.

"Don't fucking ignore me!"

Finnick turned and widened his eyes. Berston pulled out a knife from his pocket and made a move to stab him. Unprepared and surprised, Finnick closed his eyes expecting the pain to come.

Ping!

Clang.

A loud noise echoed the room as Finnick held his breath.

No Pain.

Slowly opening his eyes, he felt himself and found no stab wound.

Finnick's jaw dropped as he looked up. There in front of him was Nick, with his head pointed down, holding a card that was glowing a ominous red up to the bear's throat. In the bear's paw was only the handle of the knife, the blade was broken on the floor.

Berston stuttered as his body was frozen.

'S-so fast!' he thought to himself.

Nick's head slowly rose up and when he finally opened his eyes, it was glowing a sickly green with energy emitting like shadows.

"Listen. I won't say it again. Let. Me. Play. With. My. Friend."

The card dug into the bear's neck as it cut into him, blood slowly dripping.

"O-o-oh..k-kk-k!" Berston stuttered out as he started to sweat.

Nick let out a snarl as he smiled with his fangs showing.

"Good! I'm glad we've come to an understanding. Besides. Mr. Big hired me to protect Finnick so if you make any threats to my friend."

The bears began to shiver as a wave of pure rage made it hard to breathe as they gasped for air. A dangerous glint appeared on the fox's face.

"I'll make you disappear like one of my magic tricks. Got it?"

Berston couldn't even nod as something wet began to form between his legs.

The bears ran away with Berston awkwardly holding his crotch while running. Finnick watched them go but was more concerned about Nick's sudden change in personality.

"N-nick? You good man?"

The fox's head quickly snapped to Finnick before Nick shook his head, his eyes going back to normal.

"W-what j-just happened?"

Finnick tilted his head in confusion.

"Dude you just...That was fucking crazy. You're eyes turned like really creepy and then you teleported and took out a card and sliced the fuckign knife! Look at it!"

Nick looked down seeing the broken blade on the ground as he gasped.

"I-i did that? I can't remember doing anything...Like one moment I was getting angry and then boom I had the card at this throat...I've never done that before…"

Nick trailed off as a huge wave of nausea hit him. His legs felt like noodles as they quivered getting the attention of Finnick who looked even more worried.

"Huh? Urghh..I-I don't feel so good.." Nick's stuttered out as his vision started to spin.

The fox stumbled back and forth before falling over his eyes rolling up.

The last thing Nick saw was Finnick catching him with a panicked look.

"He- Ni-! He- Lp- C-a"

His hearing only picked up fragments of words as Nick's vision began to darken, the last thing he saw was Finnick's terrified face dialing something on a cellphone.

…

Unknown to anyone in the deep depths of the spirit realm in a chained off room, a chest with a golden lock shook. A wave of green energy passed through The room had runes all glowing red with symbols decorating the ceiling. The walls were made of marble with vines growing along it. The chest was on top of a pedestal with dried blood around it decorating it like paint.

"Power...I sense great rage…" said a voice coming from the chest.

The runes started to glow green with black smoke emitting. Along the wall, more runes started to form with a ominous glow. When it faded, it was a design of a smiling fox with three cards around the head.

The lock began to crack as the chest shook, dark energy seeping through that was the color of a corrupted purple.

"A surge of dark magic.."

Wisps of green energy flowed into the chest through the cracks.

"So...delicious...So much power it's intoxicating!"

The lock began to shake as the chains rattled. One link snapped followed by another. The chest slowly creaked open but more chains quickly snapped over it as it slammed shut.

"N-not strong enough...Must wait for more surges….Just you wait…"

An ominous chuckle echoed the room as the room shook, dust flying through the air, the runes slowly fading in color. As they slowly faded away, one was still glowing strong with green energy.

A smiling fox with horns above his head that had four cards each of them being the king of spades. The kings didn't have a head showing they have been beheaded.

Torches lighting up the room slowly dimmed the room still echoing with the soft evil chuckling.

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Hello again! Thanks for reading the video. Now this is an AU story so there will be some elements added into the story to spice up the plot. I don't want to keep the plot in movie so I'm going to be adding new elements! This is going to be more magic as well so enjoy!

Bonus points for guess what characters the two were using.


	6. Kalinka With An Outfit

Beep.

Beep.

"Mngh…"

Beep.

"W-what's going on"

A fox let out a groan of pain and slowly opened his eyes, squinting at the bright light. Nick felt that he was on a bed with white sheets but not exactly a hospital bed. He turned his head saw that an iv drip was stuck into his arm and wires attached to a pulse monitor on his finger. The beeps came from a heart monitor as the chirp continued.

"O-ow my head…"

Nick tilted his head to the other side and saw Finnick slumped over on a chair asleep. Wiggling in the bed, the fox coughed loudly trying to get his friend's attention.

"W-uh? Nick!"

Finnick quickly got up and stared at Nick with a look of relief.

"Oh my goodness Nick! You woke up!"

Nick nodded, still confused in what was going on.

"F-finny? What just happened?"

Finnick raised his brow at the nickname but then shook his head to focus.

"You passed out at the arcade after you got super angry. So I called dad since regular hospitals won't take us in."

Now it was Nick's turn to be confused.

"Hospital won't take us in? Isn't that like...Illegal?"

Finnick shrugged.

"When you're part of a gang like Mr. Big and have a criminals history, I don't think they want to treat you and I might get arrested again because of the last time I was in there."

Nick decided not to ask as he looked around the room.

"So where are we?"

"Kalinka...Kalinka, kalinka moya~" was a muffled voice.

Finnick smiled.

"You hear that? So my dad knew about the problem so he decided to get us a doctor."

Nick's ears perked up hearing the singing.

"V sadu yagoda malinka, malinka moya"

Footsteps grew more intense as Nick's ears folded back.

"S-should I be concerned?"

Finnick shrugged as the singing continued, slowly getting louder.

"Kalinka, kalinka, kalinka moya. V sadu yogoda malinka, malinka moya."

Nick let out a yell of surprise as the door fell over, kicked down. A tiger wearing a black tracksuit with white stripes ran inside holding a clipboard in one paw and a bottle of vodka in the other.

"AKHHHHHHH, POD SOSNOYU! PODOOD ZELENOYU~"

The tiger, obviously drunk, swayed left and right as he sang.

"SPAT POLOZHITE VY MENYA!~"

Finnick started to laugh uncontrollably as Nick starred in concern.

"AYYYY LYULII, LYULI, AY-LYULI!~"

The tiger suddenly stopped snapping his head staring at Nick.

"Oh Oh! My friend! You are finally awake!"

The tiger stumbled forward and craned his neck forward until the two were touching noses, Nick cringing as the smell of alcohol hit his nose.

"Heheh! Sorry sorry my friend! My name is very easy since it is literally Teegr."

Nick finally let out a sigh of relief as the tiger pulled his head away, letting the poor fox breath.

"Ok...Thanks Teegr...Am I ok?"

The tiger burped loudly as he flipped through the clipboard.

"Let me see...Ah yes. You were hemorrhaging from your nose when you came...You would of also had trauma to your head if Finnick didn't catch you when you fell. What else….Ah yes. Since you have card magic, I contacted a wizard friend of mine."

Nick rose his paw as Teegr nodded.

"Da?"

"You said wizard? Does he know magic like me? My dad said there are other mammals with magical powers but they're pretty rare."

The tiger nodded and took another swing from the bottle.

"Yes my friend! Niet niet! I am getting off topic! The thing is that you had something of a magic surge. What happens is when you experience a giant negative emotion, your body sends out a giant surge of dark magic. Which isn't good so you must control your emotions. What else...Ah yes. Take these pills for a few days. They should help you with your headache."

The Teegr tossed a bottle of pills towards Nick and then put the clipboard away.

"Well! You can leave whenever you want! I must go to do other duties."

Nick watched as the tiger hummed happily and swayed out the hole where the door was.

"What just...What just happened…" Nick finally said as he held the bottle of medications.

Finnick laughed loudly as he beckoned Nick to get out.

"Ah that's just something Teegr does. He always drunk off of his ass but always does well with medecine. You know, he got his license revoked. Some say it's because he started to get drunk in the hospital. Other say it's because he started to experiment in the hospital. It doesn't really matter. You wanna get something to eat. You must be starving."

Nick's stomach growled in response as the fox nodded.

"Yeah….I'm starving...How long was I out for?"

Finnick tapped his chin and looked at his phone.

"Aw shit. Three days."

"THREE DAYS?! MR. FATE AND MOM ARE GONNA KILL ME!"

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After finally getting home where he was grounded for four days by his tearful mother, Nick finally was sitting in front of Tobias who was currently drinking some beer.

"Look Nick. You're probably expecting me to get mad. "

Nick nodded as he sighed looking away.

"I'm not going to. I knew where you were and I knew you were in good hands. Besides. I used that time to research what happened to you."

Nick looked up surprised.

"You knew where I was? How?!"

Tobias pointed at his forehead.

"Magic. Ok. I read more about your magic surge and I think I found the solution."

The coyote snapped his fingers as a ring of indigo, blue, and red appeared. It slowly started to morph together as he stared at Nick.

"It can be an object of your choosing. Anything you want it too look like?"

Nick started to think and then snapped his fingers nodding.

"A tie!"

…..

Tobias raised a brow but shrugged.

"Alright. Why a tie?"

"That's easy! Finnick helped me get a new shirt! How does it look?"

Nick snapped his fingers and giggled, replacing his t-shirt was a green hawaiian shirt.

The coyote starred and sighed.

"Nick that is the most horrendous thing I've ever seen in all my journeys. I like it!"

The fox let out a cheer as Tobias finished making the holder. Handing over the tie which was indigo with blue and red stripes, Nick looped it around and smiled posing.

"How do I look Mr. Fate!" Nick said as he posed.

Tobias smiled and shook his head.

"Like a true card shark. Come on. I'll explain more about what the anti surge charm is over lunch. You wanna let me see Finnick too?"

Nick's jaw dropped and before he could ask how he knew, Tobias smiled.

"Magic!~"

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This is the last filler chapter! The next will start the main plot ya'll be waiting for! Yes it's little cheesy on how Nick got his outfit, but i thought it was nice. Thank you for reading and I'll see you guys next time.


	7. It's A Magical Hustle Sweetheart

A bunny in a police uniform was currently in a parking car driving around..

Being a rabbit meant that a lot of stereotypes get pinned to you. Being cute, being small, not being strong, speed, impatience.

Ding!

Judy pulled out her device and typed in a few keys, a parking ticket coming out. Ripping it off, she placed it on the car before continuing her rounds.

"Alright! One hundred and Ninety Nine! Just need one more!" she said with energy filling her voice.

Parking duty was something she wasn't expecting on her first day of her job but hey. She'll take what she can get for now.

Going back into her car, she was about to leave when a loud tire screech interrupted her.

"Watch it fox!"

Judy suddenly looked up and saw a truck drive off with a sheep driving it, a fox with a green hawaiian shirt and a blue and red tie had his hands up in the air with a look of annoyance on his face.

The rabbit scowled seeing the fox look around before turning the corner of a building disappearing from view, a suspicious look on his face.

Parking her car, Judy inserted a few coins into the meter before running across the street for follow the the same corner, she looked around and found a crowd forming.

"Step right up mammals of all kinds. I know you want to see what I got to show ya!"

Judy tilted her head in confusion as she used her small size to her advantage to push herself up to the front of the crowd.

There in front of her was the same fox holding a deck of cards. She watched as the fox beckoned the crowd forward and seeing enough gather around, he coughed into his paw and smiled.

"Hello! Now you're probably wondering why I called you here. Well lucky for you mammals, you get to see some of the best magic you're ever going to be able to see."

There was an awkward silence as the fox then accidentally dropped the deck, cards spilling onto the floor. Some mammals started to leave as Judy felt quite sorry for the street performer.

"Hey hey! Don't leave just yet! I meant to do that!"

The fox closed his eyes and put a finger to his temple. Much to the amazement of the crowd, the cards started to glow green and float up into the air. Judy watched as the cards circled around the fox before finally coming together into a deck.

The fox smiled and opened his eyes, holding the deck of cards. Snapping his fingers, a table suddenly appeared with a red cloth on top.

"Welcome to the show! I'm glad some of you decided to stick around and to help me out, I need my assistant!"

Judy watched the fox place the deck of the cards on the table before clapping his paws together. Green energy formed between his paws like a ball as the fox then placed it on the table.

WIth a loud bang, the ball of energy disappeared revealing in its place.

A small elephant. With giant fox ears sticking out the top.

Judy let out an 'aww' as the fennec fox in the elephant costume raised his tiny paws up and let out a toot from the trunk.

"Please welcome Finny!~" the fox declared as the mammals started to clap.

Finny waved at the crowd bowing before turning to the bigger fox.

"Now Finny, I want you to pick someone from the crowd to help us with our next trick."

The fennec fox looked around and then pointed directly at.

"Me?" Judy said pointing at herself.

The rabbit walked forward seeing the 'elephant' nod as she nervously walked forward.

"Thanks Finny! Please welcome our chosen one!"

Again, the crowd clapped as Judy nervously smiled waving.

"Now Miss! Can you give me your name?" the fox asked.

"M-my name is Judy Hopps!"

The rabbit blushed in embarrassment from her stutter as the fox nodded.

"Well Judy, thank you for coming up. My name is the Magnificent Tricky Nicky, but you may call me Nick for time reasons. Now Judy, since you're a rabbit, I'm guessing your favorite food is carrots?"

Judy watched in amazement as Nick reached behind his back and pulled out a carrot from out of nowhere.

"W-what?!" she exclaimed as murmurs from the crowd increased in volume.

"Yes yes! Carrot! Well I have something better. Finny, why don't you have Judy over here pick a card."

Judy turned her head and smiled seeing Finny holding out cards in a fan letting her pick out one. She nodded and pulled out one keeping it to herself.

"Good good. Now show it to the crowd so they know. When you're done looking, I want you to write your name done on it so we all know it's yours."

'Eight Of Hearts'

Nick hummed and looked up as Judy took out her carrot pen writing her signature down. Done with it, she put the card back into the deck. Finny let out a toot from his trunk as he gave the deck back to Nick.

"Thanks Finny! Now using the power of magic, I will find Judy's card! To make it even harder, I'll shuffled the deck as well!"

Nick whistled a tune as he took half of the deck into each of his paws and pressed them against the table making them mix together. Then he bent them making a bridge of cards as they shuffled. The fox smiled at the crowd as he then spun the deck of cards on the tip of his claw as the crowd let out a 'wow' with claps. Finally, Nick stopped and then stared at the crowd.

"Now for you younger mammals, don't do what I'm about to do ok?"

Finny took out box matches and pulled one out. Judy watched in shock as the match struck again Nick's arm lighting it. Nick lowered his head and opened his maw and much to the horror of the rabbit, ate the match. Finny jumped off the table and let out a toot of happiness.

The fox chewed on the matchstick before smoke started to come out of his nose. Nick then closed his eyes and then put the deck of cards on the table before focusing.

And spewed out flames from his maw.

Mammals let out surprised yelps or shouts as the table was covered in flames. The flames finally stopped as Nick coughed loudly. On the table was one lone card.

"Now Judy" Cough "I want you to go ahead and take the card. DOn't worry, It's not too hot."

The rabbit slowly reached over and grabbed the warm card turning it around.

"No way…"

Eight of Hearts with a signature of Judy Hopps on top.

Nick and Finny bowed as mammals applauded loudly with Judy still in shock holding onto the card.

"Thank you! Now unfortunately, that's all the time we have so enjoy the rest of your day. I hope it doesn't involve spending money because you might find yourself quite low!"

Mammals whispered in confusion.

"H-hey! My money is gone!" exclaimed a goat in the crowd.

Judy quickly reached into her wallet and found that all her cash inside was missing.

"What the! Stop!" Judy looked up just in time to see Nick and Finny running away turning a corner.

"Stop right there criminals!" she yelled out as she pursued the two foxes, throwing the card away.

Nick turned his head and saw the rabbit's badge and groaned.

"Damn. She was a cop. Well you wanna give her a hard time or you wanna take the easy route" Nick asked as Finny turned his head.

Toot!

"Fair enough. I mean are you sure? I kinda of to cause trouble since that was part of my oath as card shark."

Toot toot.

"Fine. Maybe we head to the casino afterwards? I heard they have a new security system specifically to try to stop me. Be a shame If i still got in."

Toot. Toot toot toot.

"Thanks Finny. Alright, I think I mastered the Destiny Gate so gimme a second." Nick said as teh two ran into an alleyway.

Judy rounded another corner and into an alleyway finally cornering the two.

"Alright! Hands up you two. I'm part of the ZPD and both of you are coming with me!" she yelled out, showing her badge.

Nick turned around smiling as he laughed, much to the annoyance of the rabbit.

"You? A cop? Look short stack, I don't remember cop's hiring a walking footrest."

Judy let out a groan of scowled.

"I graduated top of my class fox. Now put your paws up where I can see them."

The rabbit pulled out her taser from the holster on her side as Nick raised a brow.

"Huh. Hit a nerve eh? Well look carrots, I really don't have time for you since I do have to hit some places for money. Besides. Don't feel bad."

Card's began to swirl around the two foxes as Judy look in confusion.

"It's a hustle sweetheart~ You got tricked~ Well it's more of a magic hustle but you get the point. Ciao!"

And just like that, the two disappeared without a trace and without a sound.

Judy ran over where they disappeared and watched as a card slowly floated down from the air. She grabbed it and let out a frustrated groan seeing what it was.

Eight of Hearts with Judy Hopps signed into it.

Judy started to walk back to her car, trying to figure out what just happened.

"Magic isn't real...It's all illusions...But that felt so real.."

Arriving at her car, she was about to leave when.

Ding!

The parking meter went off right next to her car.

"...Oh cheese and crackers…" Judy groaned out.

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Hello! Enjoy this introduction in how Nick and Judy meet on not so good terms. Their paths have finally crossed and will definitely continue to as the plot goes on. If you know what Nick's show name is based off, you get extra points. Yes! Nick has learned more than just card magic! I think it's something more to spice things up and also add more potential to the story. Thanks for reading!

Hint: President Of United States.


	8. Crossing Paths

Judy was ecstatic.

After receiving the case for Emmitt Otterton, she was able to put her anger and sadness behind on letting the fox get away with the money. Although she had to come with a deal to take the case which may or may not lead to her giving up her job if she failed, the mayor's assistant was rooting for her! She can't fail now!

"Alright! Let's check file for a lead!"

Running over to the front desk, she jumped on top in time to see Clawhauser munching on a donut.

"Oh hi Judy!~ I'm like so glad you got the case! Oh yes! Let me get it for you let's see…"

Clawhauser smiled as he looked through the cabinet and finally, pulled out a folder labeled Otterton.

"One missing otter! Let's take a look shall we?"

Judy nodded and opened the folder able to see the contents inside.

…."That's it!?" She exclaimed.

"Yikes! THat's the smallest case file I've ever seen! No leads. No witnesses. No nothing! Hope you didn't bet your job on this sweety!" said the cheetah, sipping on his soda loudly.

Judy stared dumbfounded at the singular piece of paper stapled to the folder. Not giving up, she read the contents.

Name: Emmitt Otterton.

Gender: Male.

Height: Two Feet and Four Inches

Weight: Twenty One Pounds.

Species: Otter (Lontra canadensis)

Address: 2347 Riverbrook Lane/ Rainforest District.

Occupation: Florist.

Leads: None.

Witnesses: None.

Evidence: None.

Last known sighting?

Judy stared at the photo which was much too zoomed out to make out anything.

She looked around for a magnifying glass before seeing the bottle that Clawhauser held.

"Mind if I take this? Thank."

Grabbing it and aligning it to the photo, she peered inside using it like a microscope.

Shifting it to the right, she finally saw the otter.

"There you are...Huh?"

Looking closer, she saw that the otter was smiling with a card in his paw with the other paw holding a bouquet of flowers. Judy looked closely at the card and groaned.

The card was green with comets and stars decorating the back of it.

"I swear….If that's the card of some mammal I'm gonna…"

The rabbit sighed as she moved the bottle more to the right.

Standing and waving was a fox wearing a green hawaiian shirt and a baby elephant.

"Clawhauser. I finally got a lead!"

The cheetah clapped as Judy quickly closed the folder and ran towards the parking lot.

"Good lucky Judy! I'm right here if you need anything!"

Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Nick was sitting on a bench flipping a coin.

Up….Down…

Catching it, the fox tapped his foot impatiently.

"Come on Finny…."

Finally, a fennec fox, without a elephant costume, walked out of a bathroom yawning.

"Finally! What were you doing in there? Having a picnic?"

Nick cracked a smile as Finnic simply flipped him off pulling up dark sunglasses.

"Whatever Nicky. Let's go to the store, my sister's wedding is coming soon."

The two started to walk down the sidewalk when they heard sirens go off. Turning around, they saw a familiar rabbit pull up next to them. Now they weren't too scared of cops. Mr. Big had plenty of money to usually bribe the officers and both of them were perfectly able to defend themselves. But something felt off with the rabbit that made them a little antsy.

"Hey carrots! What are you doing back here? Driving a joke mobile I see."

Judy rolled her eyes and hopped out of her car.

"Har Har. Look Tricky Nicky, I've got some questions for you."

Finnick started to reach into his pocket but Nick nudged him gently and gave him a look saying.

'Not Yet.'

"Alright fluff. Humor me. What's your question."

The three finally pulled into an alleyway much to the discomfort of the rabbit.

"I was wondering if you knew who this mammal was."

Judy raised a picture of an otter.

Nick instantly recoiled as Finnick's eyes widened.

"H-how do you know this otter?" Nick stammered.

Judy smiled. It was the fox!

"I have a case assigned to find this missing eep!"

Judy gasped as she looked down a barrel of a tranquilizer pistol, the more illegal kind which made darts fire in a clip with quick succession.

"All right rabbit! You listen to me. You tell me exactly what you know about Otterton." Finnick commanded as he let out a snarl.

Judy nervously starred as blood rushed through her ears. Finally, training kicked in.

Knocking the pistol to the side, she kicked out her foot making the fennec fox yelp in pain, the pistol flying to the floor. Judy quickly upholstered her taser gun when she felt something sharp press against her neck.

Slowly turning her eyes, she saw Nick staring into her eyes with a cold stare. The green eyes piercing into her soul.

"Listen. Judy. Don't you ever. Touch him!"

Nick snarled loudly showing teeth, the card glowing red pressed against the rabbit's throat. The tie around his neck glowed purple before Nick shook his head. He then calmed down as Finnick finally regained his senses and grabbed the pistol once again pointing it at the rabbit.

"Now. Listen. Cooperate with us. What do you know about that otter." Finnick said, his finger dangerously around the trigger.

Judy started to panic but swallowed and shook her head.

"I don't know. I was assigned to find Emmett because he is part of the mammals missing that the ZPD has been trying to look for."

Nick stared at the rabbit as if to see if she was lying. Judy let out a sigh of relief seeing the card lower from her neck.

"Finnick. She's fine."

The fennec fox cautiously lowered his gun and holstered it.

"Alright Judy...Count yourself lucky. If Nicky over here saw you were lying, you'd wake up as an ice cube."

Finnick let a smirk form as he rested his back against the wall. Nick let the card disappear as he clapped his paws together smiling.

"Well! I'm glad that's sorted out. From what we remember, you are Judy and I must say, thank you for being out volunteer at the magic show."

Judy grinded her teeth but she knew better than to retort against these two dangerous foxes.

"No. Problem. So is it ok if I ask you some questions?"

Nick shrugged and stared at Finnick as to look for approval.

The fennec fox nodded as Nick simply nodded at the rabbit.

"Alright. What's up?"

Judy clicked her carrot pen and then looked up.

"What's your relation with Emmitt Otterton?"

Nick sighed and looked away with Finnick doing the same. Judy took note that they both looked visibly upset.

"Emmitt is a good friend of ours. He brings flowers and was like an uncle. We got to meet his kids since he trusted us. Probably the best time hehehe…" Nick finished off.

Judy quickly scribbled down on her notepad.

Nick and Finny have good relationship with Otter. Like family? Very close.

"Thanks. Now you sound pretty upset. Do you know what happened to him?"

This time, Finnick spoked up.

"We don't know too much. My dad doesn't want to disclose too much since he doesn't want us to get too involved. I mean...We're keeping an eye out, but there isn't much we can do."

The rabbit nodded.

Definitely together. Father of both? Want to help…

"Ok...Do you know the last place he was?"

Finnick and Nick both looked at each other and then smiled making Judy a little nervous.

"Yeah. We know a place. Tell you what carrots. You let us tag along in your little case. In return, we'll give you as much as we can to help. It'll give us an excuse to look for our friend. So what do you say carrots? We got a deal?"

Nick held his paw out as Judy finished writing down on her notepad and stared at the fox's paw.

"I….I really don't have a choice do I?" She asked.

Nick shook his head as Judy groaned.

"Alright. You guys can tag along. I'll try to forget that you threatened an officer. No funny business alright?"

Finnick and Nick nodded as Judy walked out of the alleyway.

"I'm going to regret this" She mummered under her breath as she sat in the car with the two foxes piling in with her.

"Alright. Where we going?" Judy asked as Nick pointed down the street.

"Just keep going down and take a right on Herring Street."

The rabbit stepped on the gas and the car sputtered before driving down, merging into the traffic.

Little did they know, their paths have finally crossed. With that, fate has brought an interesting twist to three mammals. Their simply case is going to be much more difficult and dangerous than anyone could imagine. What is to come with the three?

Only time will tell. Hopefully, Lady Luck is smiling upon them.

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Looks like they're together on the case with Finnick tagging along. From here on out, you will see this start to stray away from the movie plot so do not be surprised. Enjoy and be sure to fav and follow the story for future updates!


	9. The First Lead

Before I start this chapter, I would like to thank you all for the reviews/favs/followers. I didn't think this fic would get popular, but I was very wrong. Here are some replies to some of your reviews.

MetalFox2013: very awesome the characters were Ryu and Guild

Yep! You got them right! The two characters that Nick and Finnick were playing were those two. Good eye!

Gallowaychi: An awesome unique twist, on the um I think Nick is well asking for trouble by flaunting his magic the way he has been. Granted he's just 13. It will be fun to read all the mischievous trouble he gets in and out of as he loved how you brought in Finn; who happens to be considered family with Mr. Big.

Thank you! This is a little older review but Nick did get into some trouble. You will see a lot of angry mammals out to get him for *cough* taking their money.

Cemsay: Glad Judy isn't dead.

I am too. I always imagined Finnick to be a little violent and that was a perfect showing of him and his hotheaded attitude.

x

There were also other reviews but I don't want to make this too long! Thank you so much for the support and enjoy this 1.6k word chapter!

Edit: Fixed wording and spelling issues.

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'Yall know me. Still same old G. But I've been low key. Hated on by most these mammals with no cheese. No deals and no G's. No Wheels and no keys. No boats, no snowmobiles and no skis.'

Finnick bobbed his head to the music as Nick tapped to the beat.

Judy simply sighed as the rap music blared on her radio. Finally, Nick turned down the volume and then pointed.

"Right here carrots"

The rabbit gave the fox a glare who in return simple smirked. Pulling over to the curb, Judy put the car in reverse and squinted staring at the sign.

"Naturalist Club? This is where Emmit goes?"

Finnick let out a snicker and nodded.

Judy sighed but pushed against the door having no choice but to try. Going inside, she realized how dark it was and the low lights don't help.

Going through a beaded door, she spotted a mammal sitting behind a desk, meditating.

"Ohmmm….Ohmm…"

Judy got closer and saw that it was a very dirty yask with fur covering his eyes and flies surrounding his head.

The two foxes then stood back as the rabbit approached the desk.

"Excuse me?"

The yak simply kept humming, completely ignoring Judy.

"Hello?!"

…..

"Ohm…"

Judy groaned and then coughed loudly, a fly almost going into her mouth.

The yak shook his head and then pulled up the hair covering his eyes.

"Whoa..Hello there. Before you really go on, we really don't want any bunny scout cookies."

Nick let out a snort of amusement as Judy glared at the fox before smiling turning back to the yak.

"Sorry sir. I'm not a scout." Judy pulled out her badge showing it to the yak. "I'm here to see if you know who this mammal is."

She pulled the picture out from her pocket showing it to the yak.

The yak let out a sneeze with flies scattering everywhere.

"Oh yeah...Emmitt like came here all the time. He stopped coming all of a sudden...Yeah but I can't really say too much. My boss knows more about him"

Judy smiled finally getting somewhere in the case.

"That's perfect! Now if you could lead me to your boss, that would be even better."

The yak nodded, a smile forming.

"Coolio. I can show you where my boss is. Just across from here." he said slowly walking out from the desk.]

"Thank you so much. I really whoa! You're naked!" Judy screamed out covering her eyes.

The yak was completely butt naked as Judy turned around in horror just to see.

"AH! WHY ARE YOU NAKED TOO!"

There, Nick and Finnick had towels around their waist and nothing else. Nick did have his tie around his neck still just no shirt.

"Sorry Judes. Did we forget to mention thi is a naturist club? That means they wanna get more in touch with nature." Nick said smiling.

The yak nodded and slowly opened the door.

"Yeah. Nick is right. Ya know, he and the little dude used to come here all the time."

Nick let out a groan as he covered his face in embarrassment.

"Come on Yax. Don't tell the carrot eater about that."

Judy smirked, realizing this was a way to get back at Nick and Finnick.

"No actually. Yax...If that's your name, please tell me about it since it could be part of the case."

Finnick let out a growl pointing at yax.

"Do not do it! Do not even think about not doing it!"

Yax put a finger to his chin, deep in thought.

"Alright.. Let me think...Well, Nick and Finnick first came here a couple years ago. Said that a friend recommended this place in order to get in touch with his inner...mana? Magic? Anyways, he paid for a membership for both of them and they come here a lot.."

Judy let out a snicker as the two foxes looked away in embarrassment.

"Yeah yeah. Thanks Yax, can we get into the case now?" Nick growled out.

Judy smirked.

Foxes: 1

Judy: 1

Finally, the doors opened and much to the horror of the rabbit, everyone inside was naked. It was a lavish area with fountains and vegetation. Mammals were playing games, relaxing, talking, or doing other relaxing activities. Judy shook her head and let out a deep breathe.

Do it for the otter.

Walking forward, she followed Yax inside. Admiring the place, she was amazed in how fancy the area was.

"Nicky! Welcome back!~" a collective of female voice yelled out.

Judy turned to the right and saw a group of female tigers playing volleyball. Nick blushed and waved back as one of the tigers blew a kiss.

The rabbit couldn't help but feel jealous? No! She hated the fox!

Judy looked away, grabbing Nick's paw.

"Faster Slick. Don't have time to oogle your tigers."

Finnick let out a chuckle seeing Nick blush, being pulled along. Finally, the group stopped in front of hut. The yak smiled and opened the door beckoning them inside. Walking inside, the group found themselves standing in front of a desk and behind it was...

"Well hello there! What brings you mammals here? Oh Nicky and Finny!~ Welcome back!"

It was a female cheetah who was also naked. She had ear piercings and as well as an eye patch on her left eye, a scar showing through.

"Hey Meema!" Nick said smiling as Finnick waved.

The cheetah looked down and spotted the rabbit.

"Oh? Are you trying to register to be part of the club? Because I can help you out!"

Judy shook her head quickly.

"Oh no! I'm not here for that, I'm actually here to ask you some questions." she said flashing her badge.

The cheetah looked at the badge and then back at the rabbit.

"...You're a cop? Are you joking."

Nick let out a snicker as Judy angrily tapped her foot against the floor.

"I am. Does it matter what species I am?"

The cheetah raised a brow before sighing.

"I suppose not. Back in my days, we've only have bigger mammals..."

Now it was Judy's turn to be confused.

"Eh? Were you a cop too?"

The cheetah nodded as she pointed at a picture on her desk. There was a female cheetah in ZPD uniform with a smaller chubby cheetah in similar uniform.

"Mhm. That's me. If you were part of the force, you probably recognize my little brother."

Then it clicked in for Judy.

"You're Benjamin's sister?"

The cheetah smiled and nodded as she spun in the swivel chair.

"That's my little bro! He may not look like it, but he's a tough officer when it's needed. Should of seen his face when….Never mind we're getting off topic. I retired from the force when I got my eye injured. What do you need from me officer….Hopps"

Judy pulled out a picture of Emmet and put it on the table.

Meema picked it up and then nodded.

"Mhm. That's good ol Emmet. He stopped coming but I'm guessing because he went missing?"

The rabbit nodded as the cheetah sighed, pinching her nose.

"Thought I would get away from this kind of work. Alright. I have some information I can give you."

She opened a cabinet and searched for a few seconds before pulling out a folder sliding it to the rabbit.

"That should give you some information...Best you run along now and I wish you the best of luck."

The rabbit quickly nodded taking the folder before running out, the foxes following closely behind. Meema sighed as Yax left as well leaving her alone.

...

"YoU gAvE tHeM iNfOrMaTiOn! I dOn'T wAnT tHoSe DaMnEd FoXeS iN mY bUsInEsS!" Meema said in a darker voice.

"It wasn't that much. Now shut up and let me relax." she replied back to herself.

She raised her eyepatch revealing her purple eye with black wisps coming out.

"ThEy MuSt NoT gEt In ThE wAy Of MaStEr'S pLaN!"

Meema scoffed and snapped her fingers, a book appearing in her paws.

"The only threat is Finnick and Nick. The bunny is deadweight. I've been doing my best to corrupt the mana flow in Nick but that damned anti corrupter is getting in the way."

She flipped through the pages.

"WhAt AbOuT tHe SmAlLeR fOx"

Meema coughed and flipped through another page.

"He doesn't realize he has magic. The reason he gets all hot headed is because of the magic he has. Finnick's mana was a little easier to corrupt but I can't fully do it because the anti corruption that Nick has gets in the way. Both of them are part of the legends told by our master."

"ThEy WiLl Be PoWeRfUl AsSeTs If CoRrUpTiOn GoEs ThRoUgH"

Meema nodded.

"I know. We must wait until the right time."

Pulling the eyepatch back over her eye, Meema looked at a monitor and saw the foxes and rabbit drive off from the front of the building. Pulling out her cell phone, she clicked on one of the contacts.

"Yeah. They're heading eastbound. Probably going to go to sector B…."

….

"Mhm I'm well aware I gave them the folder."

…..

"Don't you try to pull that shit on me"

…..

"Alright. I expect payment by this week. This time, you pay in cash, not in coins."

…..

"You can't pay twenty grand in pennies. You know how long it took me to organize that shit?!"

…..

"Thank you. Alright I'll move on towards phase two. See you later. May the darkness guide you."

Pulling her cellphone down, Meema closed her eye focusing. In a flash of purple light, she disappeared. On her chair, imprinted like a rune, was a cheetah with horns, 4 cards above her represented all the suits of queens. All of the heads were gone like they have been beheaded. The door clicked locked as the lights slowly faded, the room going dark.

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GASP! Different scene! Haha. Bonus points if you know what song was playing on the radio. No cheating! Oh yes. You are going to see more magic users now! Finnick does have magic, but just doesn't know how to tap into it. Since it's been so long, he has emotional problems since he has a lot of smaller magic surges (anger ouburts). Thankfully, since Nick is nearby with teh anti corruption/surge, he can stay safe. Just thought I would clear that up! Thank you for reading!


	10. Amends and Evidence

Hello! Before this chapter starts, I would like to say something. The story has reached, as of now, 3,180 views, 12 reviews, 21 favs, and 34 followers. I cannot express how happy I am that you guys are interested in this fanfiction. My wording may be a little awkward due to a medical condition but I will press on and continue to do my best. Now since many of you are starting to read, I would like to start to pick your brain. In this chapter, you will see some puzzles that you, as the reader, can solve. I will not tell you how to solve them as are group of heroes will figure it out themselves. But! If you do figure it out. Please PM me. Don't spoil it for the others and reveal the answers. Each chapter from here on it will contains puzzles of all kind. As a person who loves these cryptograms and secret messages, I would like to put it in the story for those who wish to try to solve the case with Judy, Nick, and Finnick. Other than that, enjoy the story! I will reply to reviews in the next chapter sorry!

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"Some nights I stay up cashing in my bad luck~ Some nights I call it it a draw~"

The car cruised along the street with music playing on the radio, two certain foxes were singing loudly gaining the attention of a few mammals.

'"Some nights I wish that lips could build a castle. Some Nights I wish they'd just fall off."

Judy groaned loudly and turned off the radio muched to the displeasure of the two foxes.

"Come on Judes! We're having a good time!" Nick said in a mock hurt voice.

The rabbit simply glared at the fox before turning at a corner. Stopping the car, she sighed and parked, getting out to go to their next location.

The park.

Finnick suggested they go to a park to review the folder since it's relaxing and a place of open area. Judy agreed and also wanted to get some time to rest. The three sat at a table that had a small umbrella to provide shade. Opening the folder, the group sorted through the contents.

Nick raised a brow holding a piece of paper.

"Emmet Otterton. Age….Gender...Home...Goodness they have everything on him. Look, his mammal id number is in here."

Judy grabbed a sheet of paper.

"Huh?"

The text was completely mixed up.

'Khog lq vhfwru F. Hashulphqwv zlwk lqmhfwlqj fruuxswlrq zloo vwduw rqfh kh duulyhv. Pdb gdunqhvv jxlgh xv.'

Finnick, seeing everyone's confusion, decided to find out what was so interesting. Going over and grabbing a paper, he looked over.

'5215 23115115 2134453314 442315 441142221544 45332134424445331144153154 442315 144224511542 231114 3211222413 1434243322 344542 12154344 4434 4442111325 442315 52244433154343 124544 5215 23115115 43151345421514 442315 441142221544 442315 52244433154343 2443 11 1231111325 241122451142 24332445421514 21344542 32153212154243 3421 442315 13344242453544243433 124544 231143 434543441124331514 1133 243324454254 4434 442315 155415 42151324441131 321154 442315 1411422533154343 2245241415 4543'

"What the hell is this number shit. Something ain't right."

The three looked through the folder and found only one USB stick.

"USB stick. You know where we can get this opened?" Judy asked, holding it.

Finnick tilted his head grabbing the stick.

"The hell? Don't you have a computer back at the department?"

The rabbit groaned loudly.

"They do. I'm not allowed to use it."

Nick turned his head in confusion. Top of the class and not allowed to use the computer?

Finnick beckoned to go on as Nick listened in, pretending to look at the paper.

"Yeah...Well...The thing is that when you're the only rabbit cop, a lot of mammals don't believe in you. All the other officers are big mammals..Like what Meema said."

Judy looked down as the memories of being bullied because of her dream of becoming a police officer from the other kids resurfaced. Especially that one fox.

"Well...When I was young, I always dreamed of being a police officer. I trained hard and kept going for it. My family didn't want me to do it but...I kept going."

Judy let a sad smile show as she rested her chin on her paw.

"I did my best and was able to graduate top of the class. When I was assigned to ZPD, it didn't get any better. My chief doesn't like me at all and has bias. The only officer who treats me normally is Clawhauser."

Finnick put a paw on the rabbit's back as Judy let out a sad sigh.

"The reason I've been so onto this case is because….I bet my job on this. The chief said the only way for me to take this case was to say that I must give up my job if I can't solve the case in three days."

The fennec fox widened his eyes, along with Nick. Three days? That's absurd!

"Geez...Sorry to hear about your shitty boss. I mean...we just tagged along to kinda annoy you and have an excuse to search for our friend but….I guess we can help a little more now.."

Judy smirked turning her head.

"Why the sudden change of heart?"

Finnick scrowled sticking his tongue out.

"Maybe it's because Nick helped me out when I need to. Maybe it's because I know what it is like to be discriminated against because of what species I am."

Nick put his paper down and smiled, getting the attention of the bunny.

"Ya know what Judy...I think I know where we go now for our next lead. But. You have to call it. Get it wrong...I'll think of something."

Judy crossed her arms in annoyance.

"Listen Slick. I got a case and I don't have time for your games. I'm still pretty mad that you guys robbed and humiliated me."

Finnick punched Nick lightly on the shoulder growling.

"Drop it Nicky. Ain't your job as a card shark is to help those in need? You want me to call Mr. Fate that you broke your code?"

The fox widened his eyes and then glared at Finnick, knowing that he pinned him. Nick nodded in defeat and then extended a paw to Judy.

"Well. Thank Finny for using my code against me. I really didn't like you when we first met because you had that damned anti-fox spray. Surprised? It's really not that hard to spot."

Judy reached over and shook the fox's paw before sheepishly, taking out the fox spray.

"It's not really me...My dad made me take it. He's pretty strong bias against foxes, but I'm more opened minded...Even though a fox bullied me."

Nick took the bottle into his paws and gave it a sniff, instantly gagging.

"Gross...Let me make it something better for you."

Judy watched as Nick waved a paw in front of the bottle. The bottle seemed to disappear and replaced with…

"Hey! My money!" she exclaimed.

Nick put the neat stack of cash down and smirked.

"We even now….Judy...No. Officer Hopps?"

The rabbit pocketed the money and smiled brightly.

"Sure thing. Tricky Nicky~ Oh sorry. Nick."

The three shared a laugh before they all grew serious again. They did have to find the otter.

"Well...Since they won't give you a computer, I can have one of my good friends work on it." Finnick said getting the attention of Judy.

"We don't need anything fancy. Just a regular computer will do no?" She replied.

Finnick shook his head and pointed at the back of the USB stick. It showed a symbol that looked like a pyramid with 3 eyes on each end.

"My dad uses these. Encryption sticks. Whatever Meema gave us was either a mistake or maybe she's not telling us everything she knows. Judy. We need to travel at night so we should do something else to pass the time. Damn I knew she was shady, always had this strange vibe when I was near her"

Seeing Judy look confused when he said at night, Finnick whispered to her.

"These sticks are illegal. Don't want you to be seen with em and the guy only accepts this kind of business at night."

Nick then spoke up holding the paper.

"We should actually stop by somewhere. I think I know where we can get our first lead from…"

The fox turned around the paper and smiled, pointing at a certain line of numbers and words.

29THd03

Judy's ears perked up as she snapped her fingers.

"Plate number! Great job Nick! We just need a placed to run it….Which I'm pretty sure you have covered?"

Nick nodded as he gathered all the contents and shoved them back in the folder. The trio ran back to the car and Nick pointed forward.

"Go straight. Then we take a right on Griffin Street."

Judy pressed down on the petal and couldn't help but smile, a rush of excitement flowing through her.

Maybe she can pull this off…

No.

She stared at Finnick who was staring at the gibberish of words with focus, trying to look for a meaning while Nick's eyes faced forward, paying attention to the road.

We can pull this off.

With a determined look, Judy took a right on the street. This case just got a lot more interesting.

Unknown to any of them, a hooded mammal was watching them the entire time on a roof of a building, with a pair of bionoculars that glowed purple.

"Targets heading eastbound towards Sector B. Should I make a move to intercept?"

...

"Understood. I'll continue my watch. May the darkness guide you."

And with that, the mammal was gone.

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Thanks for reading! I think the trio getting a long now, will be able to make the plot much more interesting. Understanding that Judy is discriminated against makes both Finnick and Nick have sympathy since they all experienced it. So with the story being told, they now want to help so they can all solve this together. Again, if you think you've solved the code, please PM me and don't spoil it for the others! See you on the next chapter. I thin


	11. The Order Of Erebus

_Edit: Changed last cypher in this chapter. Messed up the message. FOr compensation, I will give a hint._ **WWI.**

First of all, congrats to fan-like-irving for figuring out the cypher. Thanks for not sharing it to the others for it is a little secret towards the plot if you figure it out.

Replying to reviews:

Guest: Really liking the story so far. Some of the wording seems slightly awkward to me, but it's still a very good story. I got the vibe through the entire story so far that Nick and Finnick are together. Please let that be the case. There aren't enough good FinNick stories. If it has already been confirmed and I missed it, I apologize. I'm half asleep reading this.

No worries! I never addressed it. Nick and Finnick have a brother type relationship but is there some kind of love between them? Guess you'll just have to keep reading to find out~

.2015: Wow. That is intense. I wasn't expecting that. You know what would be cool though. If there was a few mammals in the government/force that were corrupted and try to jail Nick to corrupt him.

It would be huh? Well you're just going ot have to keep reading to find out. Let me tell you that Nick made a lot of enemies with his magic and with dark forces searching for him and mammals coming out, our trio of heroes are going to have quite the adventure. Thanks for the support!

Gallowaychi: Fantastic Fun new chapters! Ok so is Nick going to be able to pull a rabbit out of his hat? Lol ;)

Haha! Thanks for the positive review!

x

Again thank you so much for the positive feedback. I am so happy to see the story almost get 350+ viewers everyday. It really shows that people love this fanfiction as much as I do. Thank you again and enjoy!

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The car stopped in front of a big building.

"Right here. This is the place." Nick said as he smiled.

Judy looked at the logo on the building and then nodded.

"Perfect. A DMV. But there's gonna be a lot of mammals inside."

Nick smiled and jumped out of the car.

"Yep. But I have a friend inside who can help us skip."

The three entered inside the building, passing through the clear doors, as Judy stared. There were long lines with many mammals waiting. In the front, there were…

"Sloths? The DMV has sloths?!"

Nick nodded and shrugged, tucking the folder under his armpit.

"They may be slow. But they try their hardest. Besides. The guy we askin ain't too slow."

Judy followed Nick up to the front where a sloth was behind a counter, slowly tapping on a tablet.

Finnick awkwardly tried to peak over but with a help of Judy, he was able to sit on top.

"Flash Buddy! What's up man?" Nick said in a cheerful voice.

THe sloth slowly turned his head, his mouth forming a lazy smile.

"Nice….To….See….You….Nick….As…..Well…."

The fox smiled back and then took out the folder. Opening it, he showed the license number.

"Mind If you scan this buddy? We need to find out what vehicle it is..For police purposes."

Judy pointed to her badge as the sloth's face started to turn more serious.

"Oh….I...Under….Stand...Nick...Let….Me….Type….This….Down…"

Nick nodded and started to read off the text slowly as Judy took the time to look around. Ignoring the frustrated noises of the other mammals, it was a very peaceful place. Her thoughts were interrupted as she felt Finnick tap her shoulder.

"What's up Finnick?"

Finnick pointed with a look of suspicion painted on his face.

"Yeah. That mammals looks shady. Mind If I go check on it since I'm not going to be doing anything."

Judy nodded as she went back over staring in annoyance at Nick who told a joke to Flash.

Finnick hopped off the counter and headed out the door. Turning right, he peaked over and saw it.

A mammal with a black cloak covering his/or her entire body. And in their paw was a device blinking red. Heading straight told the police 'car'.

"Hey! What you doin messing with the car?" Finnick called out with his paws in his pockets.

The mammal turned around and Finnick took a step back in shock. Two glowing purple eyes stared back at him, seeming to pierce into his soul.

"Y-yeah you! Don't look at me like that! What you got in your paws!" Nick yelled out, his confidence slightly wavering.

The fennec fox's eyes widened as the unknown mammal shot out a ball of energy towards him. Acting fast, he rolled over to the right dodging the incoming projectile. He hissed loudly holding his shoulder where his fur got singed.

"Son of a bitch!" he growled out, pulling out his dart pistol. Peaking out slightly, he looked down the sight and pulled the trigger three times.

The pistol made a hissing sound of compressed gas firing out the darts with quick succession. The mammal's paw rose up as Finnick watched the darts stop in midair.

"Oh come on…" he said in a frustrated voice. Finnick let out a yelp as he found himself floating above the ground. IN a panic, he pointed his pistol again and shot. The dart missed by inches as the mammal simply tilted his head to avoid it. With a flick of the paw, Finnick was launched into the wall of the building. He slumped over and lay still, the pistol falling onto the ground.

The cloaked mammals went back to the vehicle, holding the device.

"Hrk!"

Three cards were embedded into the mammal's back.

Turning around, the mammal stared at the attacker.

A fox, with eyes burning green, was holding three cards in between his fingers. Standing behind him was a rabbit who was holding a taser in her paw, a look of concern on her face as she looked at Nick.

A growl escaped the fox as the cards glowed blood red.

"You. Dare touch. My. Friend."

A wave of energy exploded out from Nick, the tie around his neck slowly coming undone.

"HOW DARE YOU HARM HIM YOU ABOMINATION OF A MAMMAL!"

Nick threw out the cards in a fit of rage and before the cloaked mammal could even react, the profectles hit their marks. A distorted scream escaped the mammal as purple and red fire ignited burning. Judy's ears folded back as Nick simply smiled laughing, a look of pure craze and insanity.

"Nick! Stop it!"

The fox turned and looked at Judy's look of fear. She knew this mammals harmed Finnick but this was too much.

"What do you mean! This thing! It harmed Finnick! My best friend! My brother!"

Judy shook her head and holstered her taser.

"I know! I get it but look at the mammal! That's not right!"

Nick looked back and watched as the cloak burnt away revealing what seemed to be...well you couldn't even tell if it was a mammal. Charred flesh and the continues distorted screaming just made it like something from a horror film. Nick simply shrugged with a crazed look.

"I like my bugs like my enemies. Charred and broiled~"

Nick started to cackle as Judy started to tear up. This wasn't the Nick she knew. This is something crazy!

Fsrst!

Nick's eyes widened as he looked back. Finnick was panting loudly and holding his dart pistol, blood trickle down the fennec fox's mouth as he wiped it away.

"I-I-I...I thought….Why did you shoot me buddy?..."

Nick mumbled out a few more words before falling over on his stomach, a dart in his back.

Judy quickly got up and helped the struggling Finnick, the tears still coming down.

"We need to get you to the hospital Finnick. Hopefully they can help you and Nick out! W-what's going on Finnick!"

Finnick let out a growl and shook his head.

"No. We need to get the fuck out of here and into somewhere secluded. Mammals are gonna come out and see what the noise was."

Judy nodded and before they could move, the burnt mammal started to float into the air.

"EM EDIUG SSENKRAD EHT YAM .SELOH ESEHT LLIF OT YRASSECEN SI ECIFIRCAS YM .SLUOS SEXOF ESEHT TPURROC DNA EVIL OT EUNITNOC REDRO RUO YAM .NOITANMAD OTNI SEXOF NMAD ESEHT DNES DNA NOITAVLAS LANRETNI OT LUOS YM EDIUG OT SSENKRAD EHT OT YARP I .WOV I DNA DNE OT EREH WON SI EFIL YM .WON EM EDIUG OT EREH SSENKRAD EHT HTIW" It chanted over and over again, slowly turning into screams. The mouth opened as blue energy shot out like a beam before the burnt mammals turned into ash piling onto the floor.

Judy held out her carrot pen and nodded as she helped Finnick move the unconscious Nick into the car. The fennec fox quickly grabbed the tie on the ground and jumped into the car. Mammals started to come out and see what was going on but by then, the car was already gone. As whispers and murmurs escaped the crowd, the pile of ash started to fade away.

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The car ride was silent as the trio continued their travel. Judy had a look of fear while Finnick kept his face neutral. Nick's eyes were closed shut in a peaceful slumber. The rabbit couldn't help but occasionally turn her to stare at the fox. Who was he really? What is he capable of?

"You're probably really confused. Scared. Afraid. I don't blame you Judy." Finnick finally said, breaking the silence.

Judy kept her eyes forward but she nodded.

"Look. Nick is a good guy. It's just that. He's got this dark side to him. When he sees mammals close to him get hurt, he snaps. The tie he wears is supposed to help control that anger but I think seeing me get fucking slammed against the building really made him lose control. So much so that the anti surge couldn't hold it."

The car started to sputter as Judy cursed. Out of gas. Pulling over to a gas station, the rabbit sighed in relief seeing it empty.

"So. Tell me everything Finnick. As a friend. I must know."

Finnick, shocked, let his jaw drop.

"F-friend? W-we're friends? B-but we just made emends!"

Judy smiled, sliding some bills into the pump.

"But amends is what's important. Sure we had a rough start but you were the first to listen to my story. To understand what's it's like to be kicked around."

Finnick looked away and then turned back with a sad smile.

"I guess….Nick was and is my only friend. He means so much to me...Seeing him like this again...Well...It's only right to tell you everything. Besides. If we're going to solve this case, we're gonna be together for a while. Friend."

Judy and FInnick shook paws.

"Judy?"

"Yeah?"

"Thanks."

"No problem Finnick. That's what friends are for."

Finnick smiled and walked towards the food mart.

"I'm gonna grab something small. Our next location is a little far."

Judy nodded and continued to fill the car with gas. She frowned and took out her carrot pen and played back the chant.

"...What does it mean….I hope we solve this case...And this point I don't care about the three days. I just want to solve it….This is getting bigger and bigger."

Unknown to all of them, in the deep depths of the spirit realm in a familiar chained off room. A wave of green energy once again passed through. The runes lit up again glowing red and vines growing along the walls started to wither and die. A chest, with chains around it, sat on top of a pedestal with stained blood on it, started to shake.

"The surge….It's back…" the voice sounded.

The runes started to glow green as the smiling fox with horns and four cards around the head rune started to glow brighter.

"Pure...Rage….Pure...Dark...Magic.."

Wisps of green energy flowed inside the chest. Laughter sounded as the chest shook, the chains rattling.

"IT'S SO PURE! SO LOVELY! THIS IS WHAT I NEEDED!"

The chest creaked and the chains snapped. More chains started to form but a blast of energy instantly made them disappear. A flash of light blinded the entire room. As it faded away, the chest was gone. In place standing on top of the pedestal was a fox with a dark shade of orange red fur, complemented with a cream fur color. The fox wore a black suit fitted with a white dress shirt and a red tie. The fox started to stretch and looked around. Opening his eyes revealed one green eye and the other a dark purple with shadow wisps emitting from it.

"Hahah! I'm free! I'm finally free!"

He twirled around and looked down at himself.

"Hrm? I'm a fox? Guess my host is a fox."

Jumping off the pedestal, the fox looked around and let out a cackle.

"What a nice prison! Would be a shame if I simply! Did this!"

His purple eyes glowed as he pushed out his paws. The walls crumbled with an explosion followed by laughter.

"Im full of power! That was so much dark magic from my host!"

Walking through the rubble, he stepped through and stared down the halls leading into different corridors.

"Ohoho! They made this a maze so I can't escape! Fools! You cannot keep the Great Erebus in this prison. The world will kneel before me!"

The fox hovered above the floor and crossed his arms. He then started to float down the hall in search of an exit. Erebus has returned to the world of living. As the torches in the room slowly faded away, text started to appear along the walls, written in blood.

'Tcn Ite gu r esnohuefdrr a aeG h.d orut hn d fiarwno eeeBlo heeaobenemttoihosoules gt irsir wu nmfahhdtnhr ttelsl .asd reta herlkgoioef bZ. seeEntf tne hrha ehetpl b ar hTrmfwebd aperdenlh iea OdekHloteaetci hgrxas cg bc t ansT oacefhvdoe nr l .honeule wnmU fslaehoe lsihntc tolrsda't sr ot ea tru uod g ooo kS roaust iiikyt atslcstr onenu r Eellnn eln t'

And then the room faded to black. The only thing heard was the echoing cackling of Erebus.

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Spooky. Thanks for reading! Make sure to like and fav if you haven't already! Again. If you figure out the crytograms, PM me so I can confirm if you have it right or not. Thank you again and Ill see you soon!


	12. Breaking Point

Sorry for the big wait! In return, I give you this very big chapter. Please forgive me, I had many things to work in IRL. Enjoy!

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The moon slowly rose up into the sky. With the sun fading away, a car slowly rolled up into the Rain forest District. Setting the car to park, a rabbit looked up and rested her head on the steering wheel.

"Ok...We're here."

Judy looked at Nick who was still asleep. Finnick was wide awake holding two cans of energy drinks to keep himself up. The rabbit watched as the fennec fox hoisted Nick above his head.

"Follow me. Move fast, we only have a small window."

Judy ran after Finnick who was surprisingly fast. Nervously walking across a rope bridge, she stopped, seeing Finnick place Nick against a wall. The fennec fox knocked on the door of the house which was embedded into a tree. Shuffling of feet was heard but no voice.

"Pst. It's me Finny. Password is amgil. Checking in with two and one. "

Sounds of locks being unlocked and latches pulling away were heard and finally, the door slowly opened.

"Hey Finny. Come in quick please."

The head of a black jaguar was all Judy saw before she was pulled into the house. The inside was very nice with lowlights and drapes along the windows. What really stuck out was the computers and monitors along the wall. Wires of all colors were along the walls and floor in a messy fashion. Getting a full view of the mammals, she saw the black jaguar wore a white tank top and grey sweatpants. He one golden eye which were filled with paranoia and anxiety. He wore an eye patch on the other, scratches visible showing through.

"Finny. Who is this?" the jaguar said in a hushed tone.

Finnick coughed and then sighed.

"This is a friend. She's Judy Hopps and part of the ZPD. Before you freak out, she's not here to arrest you. She's here for information on our good comrade Emmet."

The jaguar's paw stopped reaching for the pocket as he sighed nodding.

"Ok….Sorry Miss Hopps. I don't really get along with the law. My name is Renato Manchas. But everyone calls me Manchas so you can call me that too." he nervously extended a paw as Judy took it smiling.

"Thank you Manchas. Like Finnick said, I'm not here to arrest you. We need your help."

A twinkle appeared on the jaguar's eye but before he could continue, he gasped at Nick who was slumped along the wall.

"Carajo...What happened Finny?"

The fennec fox shook his head sadly and raised the tie.

"Magic surge. Some mammals have been following us and one attacked me. Nick lost his shit man. Fucking scary as hell. He needs some rest."

Manchas nodded and then turned back to Judy.

"Ok...If you're with Nick then I know I can trust you. What do you need help with?"

Judy quickly took out the folder and opened it pulling out a USB stick.

"We need you to open this. We got this as evidence. Whatever is inside may let us get some answers."

Manchas took the stick and held it into his paw inspecting it.

"...Encryption stick? These are super illegal...Super hard to crack.

Judy bit her lip.

"So no?"

The jaguar let out a chuckle.

"Super hard. Not impossible. I'll let my program run through it."

He walked over to the computers and slide the stick inside. Judy turned around and saw Finnick pulling a pillow over onto the floor and placing Nick's head on top. Her heart wretched as the fennec fox curled up next to the bigger one a sad look on both of their faces.

'I'm gonna make this right. We're gonna solve this case together.' she thought to herself while turning back to the screen.

Manchas cracked his knuckles and a black box appeared. Typing a few words and pressing enter, numbers started to appear as the jaguar scratched his head.

"Ok. I let my program try to solve it and try to get through the wall. Until then, do you need help with anything else?"

Judy remembered the evidence and layed out the papers on the desk. Manchas looked over and then put a paw to his forehead.

"Yes yes...I've seen this before. This is old school."

The rabbit watched as Manchas rolled the chair over to a cabinet and pulled out a piece of paper. It was a square with letters and numbers.

"These are ciphers. Mammals use these for secret stuff. Don't use them anymore since computers and tech are better at security but they can pose a challenge. See all these numbers? It's something called polybius square. By using a table like this, you can translate all these numbers into letters. So translating this…" Manchas pointed out.

'5215 23115115 2134453314 442315 441142221544 45332134424445331144153154 442315 144224511542 231114 3211222413 1434243322 344542 12154344 4434 4442111325 442315 52244433154343 124544 5215 23115115 43151345421514 442315 441142221544 442315 52244433154343 2443 11 1231111325 241122451142 24332445421514 21344542 32153212154243 3421 442315 13344242453544243433 124544 231143 434543441124331514 1133 243324454254 4434 442315 155415 42151324441131 321154 442315 1411422533154343 2245241415 4543'

"Turns into…."

Judy watched as Manchas went back and forth to the table and the paper slowly writing it down. Finally, the jaguar put the pencil down and showed it to Judy.

'WE HAVE FOUND THE TARGET UNFORTUNATELY THE DRIVER HAD MAGIC DOING OUR BEST TO TRACK THE WITNESS BUT WE HAVE SECURED THE TARGET THE WITNESS IS A BLACK IAGUAR INIURED FOUR MEMBERS OF THE CORRUPTION BUT HAS SUSTAINED AN INIURY TO THE EYE RECITAL MAY THE DARKNESS GUIDE US'

Manchas starred and then cursed loudly.

"Shit...They know about me. Can't fix their spelling huh.. Hope they don't know where I am. I have a magic field making my house invisible during the day. Only time you can see my home is 1 hour in the night time. If you don't know. I work along with Finnick with Mr. Big. I'm an escort driver."

Judy nodded as Manchas pointed at the gibberish of words.

'khog lq vhfwru f. hashulphqwv zlwk lqmhfwlqj fruuxswlrq zloo vwduw rqfh kh duulyhv. pdb gdunqhvv jxlgh xv.'

"This is also simple. It is something called caesar cipher. Basically, you move the letter three times over. The K here represent H and H represent E and so on. So if we translate this…."

Manchas again worked and then rose the paper.

'Held in sector c. Experiments with injecting corruption will start once he arrives. May darkness guide us.'

"Well...We have a first hint in where my client is."

Judy raised a brow as Manchas sighed.

"I was assigned to drive Emmit. But as we were going, the car was attacked. Magic hit the tires and engine. The car crashed into a tree and I did my best to try to defend myself and my client. Much like Nick, I have magic as well."

Judy watched as the jaguar's paws glowed yellow.. Papers started to glow the same color and float around.

"My speciality is electricity. Which is why I have all this tech and how I power it all without going bankrupt...Money isn't an issue, but mammals and the law will get suspicious if I have a giant electricity bill…"

The computer started to make a loud whirr noise as the two looked up.

The screen changed and a green check mark appeared. Manchas smiled and pumped his fist.

"My program never fails to crack things. Let's take a look what's inside…"

Manchas moved a bit on his chair letting Judy jump up ontop to see the screen. Manchas moved the mouse and the screen changed showing pictures. He double clicked on one and waited as it started to load.

"Oh cheese and crackers…" was all that Judy could say.

The picture was of her family with a circle around her head. Manchas clicked as it moved to another picture. It was one of female cheetah with ZPD uniform. She was holding a queen of hearts in her paw, a smile on her face. Manchas pressed again. This time it was a news video and Judy craned her neck to see it as the jaguar pressed the play button. The video played...

"...Star ZPD officer injured in explosion. Supernatural causes are apparently reported but officials say it was gas pipe malfunction. The explosion happened when Officer Clawhauser was pursuing a cloaked mammal down an alleyway when witnesses reported hearing distorted chanting before the explosion happened. Here is a video cam that was salvaged on scene."

The video turned into what seemed to be a chest cam. Panting was heard as the mammals infront was running away. Reaching into the alley way, the cloaked mammal turned around trapped as the voice of the user sounded out.

"ZPD! Stop running right now! Paws on the wall where I can see them!" yelled the familiar voice of Meema.

Suddenly, purple energy shot out from the mammal's paws, striking Meema, the camera went flying as screams of the cheetah were heard. The camera hit the ground as the screen cracked. On the ground screaming and holding her eye was Meema with claw marks on her eyes, blood flowing through her paws. The cloaked mammal simply floated past as a playing card fell landing on the ground. Looking closely, it was a queen of hearts.

Judy watched but then noticed something appearing along the walls of the alleyway as the cloaked mammal touched it.

"Stop the video. Can you zoom in?"

Manchas nodded and paused the clip. Typing a few things, it zoomed in on where Judy pointed. The video cleared up as the words were easily able to be seen written in purple text.

'Gsv jfvvm rh ulfmw. Dv droo xlmgrmfv gl ollp uli gsv qzxp, prmt, zmw zxv. Lfi oliw Vivyfh droo irhv ztzrm. Nzb gsv wzipmvhh tfrwv fh.'

Manchas squinted his eyes and then shook his head.

"Don't' recognize this one...Let's keep looking...These pictures are getting creepy. Whatever this cult or group is, they have eyes on all of us."

Manchas skipped over to the next one.

He then turned his head and threw up in a trash can seeing it. Judy took a sharp intake of air.

The picture was a wall covered in blood and guts. Bones and tufts of fur were also seen. Thankfully, there wasn't a body but the real disturbing part were the cloaked mammals seeming to be floating above the ground, blood stained on their cloaks.

"Judy...Go ahead and look through. I think I'm gonna be sick.."

Judy nodded and swallowed hard. It was disturbing but she had to see everything. Manchas got up and walked towards a door what seemed to be the bathroom. Judy clicked on the mouse as it moved to the next picture. It was a 'photo' of a young Nick and Finnick smiling. Nick was wearing his familiar green hawaiian shirt and the tie. Finnick had his sunglasses pushed up, wearing his usual black bowling shirt with red stripe and green shorts. The fennec fox was sitting on top of the Nick's shoulder. In his paw, he was holding a Jack of clubs. Nick was holding a King of spades, a confident smirk. Realizing it was a video, she clicked the play button.

"Nick! Come on man run faster!"

Nick started to run as Finnick happily let out happy trills, something Judy never heard before. She watched as they ran around letting out yells of happiness. Then, they stopped in front of the camera and started to play games such as go fish , twenty one, and a variation of the game 'Uno'.

Judy then looked closely as Nick pulled out the King of spades while Finnick the Jack Of Clubs.

The cards flashed for a second as Nick giggled.

"I have the high card Finny! That means I get to choose what game we play back at your house!"

Finny let out a frustrated growl.

"You're using your Card Shark powers! We always pull the same card!"

Nick shrugged and flashed a smile.

"Iunno. I just feel that they represent us! King and Ace are like the best cards you can get! Since we're like best friends, it's only fitting we're the highest cards."

Finnick crossed his arms pouting as he growled.

"But Ace is higher than the King. You're saying you're higher than me!"

Nick then shook his head and pulled Finnick into a hug.

"Not really. To me, the jack and king are the best together. Sure king can be seen as higher, but a kingdom isn't ruled by an just a king! It's ruled by a king and his jack as a right paw mammal! The queen is there too but I think I want you as my best buddy! Besides. In blackjack, the jack and ace are better than king and ace. Since we did play blackjack….I guess this time you're the higher card"

Finnick lightly punched the fox as the two laughed na got up running off again.

Judy realized that the video seemed to be on a camera that they never saw. Something unusual was going on and all these photos and videos were leading up to something… The cards, the mammals, and then all the cryptograms. What was going on?

Beep.

Judy looked up and saw that there was one more remaining slide, clicking she gasped loudly.

A face of a fox with one purple eye and a green eye, smiled

"Ah yes! Hello there rabbit! Now I see that you are getting into some business that you shouldn't be. Look. Stay out of my way alright. Hand over the two foxes and you may get to live. Oh where are my manners!~ My name Is Lord Erebus~ But you can call me Erebus."

Judy simpled starred as a frown formed on her face.

"Listen Erebus. I don't have time for your games. Are you the one behind this?!" She yelled out in accusation.

All Erebus did was laugh.

"Oh? You don't want to? Well...Let me give you a warning Hopps. I have connections. I can see you everywhere. I know your history and movement. So consider this. You don't give them to me. I'll make you regret you ever stuck your nose into my business. As a warning. If you survive this. Never cross me again."

Judy watched as the fox laughed before the screen went black. An alarm went off as fuzes started to go off and electricity started to surge into the computer. WIres started to snap off as Judy quickly pushed away. A loud snarl was heard as the bathroom door was ripped off of its hinges. She watched in horror as Manchas stumbled out holding his head yowling in pain. Electricity started to surge around him as he looked at Judy. The eye patch was flipped up revealing a purple eye with black wisps emitting from it.

"J-judy! F-finny! G-GET OUT! I-IT'S MAKING ME ARGHHH"

The black jaguar let out a screech of pain as he fell onto his knees, clutching his head. Judy backed away in fear as Finnick woke up quickly to the screaming.

"J-jesus w-what the fuckign is going on Judy!" he yelled out as Manchas started to claw at his own head, fur flying out.

Judy swallowed hard before shaking her head.

"S-some bad stuff. We gotta get out of here now!"

Finnick quickly picked up Nick as he started to run out. Judy quickly followed and slammed the door behind her. As they ran across the rope bridge, Manchas walked out from the house as a loud evil chuckle escaped from his lips.

"My master wants you gone Hopps! Take this!"

Judy gasped as a lightning bolt crashed down on the opposite side of the bridge. The loud bang followed up as she covered her ears. Finnick let out a scream of pain, his grip on the fox tightening.

A loud crack noise was heard as Judy watched as the bridge started to collapse.

"Oh SHIT!"

Finnick yelled out as the bridge collapsed sending the three plummeting down. Judy was scared, no terrified. Free falling, her life flashed in front of her eyes. Growing up, police academy, first getting tricked in the city, meeting up with the two foxes, becoming friends…

'So this is it. Finally a breakthrough in the case and I get sent plummeting down to my death. Heh...At Least I made friends..'

She closed her eyes as the wind rushed past her.

Woosh CHRK!

Judy heard a whoosh noise followed by something latching onto something solid. Opening her eyes, she saw Finnick holding onto a chain that was glowing a bright red. He seemed surprised himself but holding on tight, he looked over to Judy and held out his paw. Judy quickly grabbed on but looked around.

Where's Nick?

Finnick seemed to reach the same thought as he looked around in panic. Then Judy pointed behind him. Finnick quickly turned around and saw Nick free falling, a peaceful smile on his face.

"Fuck fuck fuck!" Finnick yelled out as he tried to reach forward but Nick was just too far.

"Come onn.. Come on!" he yelled out, straining as Judy watch the ground start to get closer.

A chain with the same glow, formed out from Finnick's free paw and wrapped around Nick.

Gotcha!

With a violent jerk and swing, the trio hit the limit of the chain as they swung all the way back up. Screaming, they would sail all the way up before falling over again, rocketing downwards. A net of chains then formed cushioning their fall before they hit the trees. Panting loudly, Judy let out a sigh of relief. Turning her head, she saw Finnick staring at his own paws trying to figure out what just happened.

"I-I got magic? W-what the fuck? Judy? What's going on . What happened to Manchas!"

All Judy could really do was catch her breath before simply explaining, trying to get over the shock.

"Holy fuck. We're being tracked. Manchas got fucked up. Fucking hell."

Finnick then smiled looking at his paws.

"But I got this dope ass magic...What was that chains? Man they just came out and they latched onto the cliff side and Holy fuck I'm getting off topic."

With a distant roar, Finnick looked around before sliding down the tree.

"Alright. Bring Nick down slowly"

Finnick let out a yelp as Nick's body was dropped on top of him.

"Oops! Sorry!"

Judy climbed down and helped Finnick get Nick onto their shoulders. She let out a groan and sighed.

"My car. It's on the other side. You have a place we get to?"

Finnick looked around and then nodded as he pointed at an old motel.

"It's all we got. Besides we only staying for a night."

Trudging along, they walked towards the motel. In the trees watching them were a pair of eyes, one purple and the other golden.

"Targets spotted north side towards sector 246. Should I engage?"

….

"Copy. I'll keep the place underwatch. May the darkness guide you."

The eyes disappeared as the trio entered inside the motel lobby. What else is to come for the group of heroes? Will Nick ever wake up from his magic surge? Only time will tell as the journey has only just begun.

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Whoa! Finnick discovered his magic! I thought revealing them in a time of life or death, is a great way for it to trigger it. Thinking about what to give him, was really hard. I didn't' want to pick something really typical like super speed since he's small. I wanted to do something different and unique. Also, here is the chapter showing how to solve some of the ciphers! Enjoy the story as there is so much more to come! Sorry if the chapter seems a little rushed. I am very sick and finally started to recover. Enjoy and PM me if you think you solve it!


	13. The Clock Strikes

Edit: Put in a missing sentence.

Addressing Reviews:

realhotstuff: Loving the story so far, but I can't help but notice the fact that the whole "stealing money during magic show" thing is pretty similar to my story's first chapter (also about magic). Anyway, im not mad or anything (my story is dead af anyway), and it might just be a coincidence, but I just figured id share. If you did get the idea from my story, you dont have to credit me or anything either. I honestly dont mind. Cheers.

Hey man! I'm actually not going to lie. Your story was the inspiration to make this. At first it was just going to be the same plot as the movie with magic mixed in instead of the scam, but then I realized that I can make this into something else. When writing the chapter, I realized how similar it was to yours but I couldn't find a different way to portray a better thing to introduce Judy and show how the two foxes get in trouble. SO sorry about that. I'm glad you enjoy the story!

.2015 : To be honest. Manchas should make another return. either at the climax or at an attempt for Judy and Nick to save some of the infected mammals. Great job with manchas's corruption though. I can't wait to see what happens to Fin now that he realizes he has magic. I wonder who else Judy and gang are going to have to face. After all they have eyes everywhere.

If Bogo gets corrupted, I would love to see him control the earth with a stomp of his hoof. That would be cool to see that.

Other possible powers would be fire, either igniting or containing it.  
Water, for drowning, physical attacks or maybe even clones.  
A plant one, where it's like poison ivy.  
Maybe another luck person, with dice. The term snake eyes comes to mind.  
Maybe an actual psychic, who can view the future.  
Maybe another polar bear who's specialty is ice.

Thanks for the support! Manchas will come back don't worry! As for your ideas, your things are actually helpful. I'll take them into consideration.

x

Other than that, continue the support for the story! Updates will be a little slower since school is starting. Thanks again for your favorites, reviews, and followers!

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Finnick flopped onto of a bed, letting out a sigh of exhaustion. Judy joined in with collapsing next to him. Nick was still asleep, slumped onto the other bed. The room they were staying in was a simple double bed room with a bathroom and crummy tv. Something very cheap and easy to stay.

"I feel so exhausted...Too much shit going on in a day." Finnick mumbled out.

Judy couldn't even respond as she watched Finnick drag himself towards the other bed and lay next to Nick, a worried look plastered on his face.

"Come on Nicky...Wake up...I don't know what to do without you…."

Judy's heart broke, seeing Finnick dropping his usual tough guy shell and now having genuine concern for his best friend. Letting Finnick be alone, she reached around to her back and growled feeling the folder missing.

"Must of forgot to get it in the panic...At Least I have this…"

Judy held out her carrot pen and pressed the button hearing it once again.

'EM EDIUG SSENKRAD EHT YAM .SELOH ESEHT LLIF OT YRASSECEN SI ECIFIRCAS YM .SLUOS SEXOF ESEHT TPURROC DNA EVIL OT EUNITNOC REDRO RUO YAM .NOITANMAD OTNI SEXOF NMAD ESEHT DNES DNA NOITAVLAS LANRETNI OT LUOS YM EDIUG OT SSENKRAD EHT OT YARP I .WOV I DNA DNE OT EREH WON SI EFIL YM .WON EM EDIUG OT EREH SSENKRAD EHT HTIW'

With nothing else to do, she rewinded the voice.

' . . '

Her ears perked up.

It sounded like...Words?

She the tape play and then played it back little by little. Getting up and walking over the the cheap desk fitted with a single sheet of paper showing the motel breakfast times, she started to write it down sitting on the chair.

'WITH THE DARKNESS HERE TO GUIDE ME NOW. MY LIFE IS NOW HERE TO END AND I VOW. I PRAY TO THE DARKNESS TO GUIDE MY SOUL TO INTERNAL SALVATION AND SEND THESE DAMN FOXES INTO DAMNATION. MAY OUR ORDER CONTINUE TO LIVE AND CORRUPT THESE FOXES SOULS. MY SACRIFICE IS NECESSARY TO FILL THESE HOLES. MAY THE DARKNESS GUIDE ME'

She looked at the text and nodded.

"Of course. It sounded all mixed up because it was backwards….Internal salvation? This is a cult of some kind...Erebus!"

She snapped her fingers, a light bulb going off.

"The cult is around Erebus who has eyes everywhere...Some kind of god?..."

Searching through the text, she stopped at 'CORRUPTION'.

"The corruption….All the mammals who've been touched by had an eyepatch….Meema. She's part of the cult through the incident in the alley way!"

All of a sudden, her vision changed with a flash of white light.

Judy looked around in shock as she was back in a familiar alleyway. Looking around, she stumbled back seeing a cloaked mammal run straight towards her.

"Stop! Stop Right! Huh?"

She watched as the mammal seemed to phase right through her like if she was a ghost. Hearing footsteps, she saw Meema, who had two perfectly undamaged eyes, who also ran past her.

'ZPD! Stop running right now! Paws on the wall where I can see them!' Meema yelled out, her paw on a holster of a standard issue taser pistol.

Judy gasped. It was history repeating itself.

"Meema! Watch out!" Judy yelled out as she watched helplessly, the cloaked mammal turning around and quickly extending out a paw.

"Stop! Meema get out of the way!" she yelled out closing her eyes as the familiar purple energy ball shot out from the palm of the mammal.

Judy heard a clock tick and then a bell go off. Slowly opening her eyes, she let out a small gasp.

Everything was still. The energy ball was inches away from Meema's face who had her eyes widened. Judy started to walk around and saw everything was frozen. Nothing moved. Nothing changed.

"W-what? I-Is this a dream?...How did I do that?..." she said to herself, bewildered.

Walking forward, she waved a paw in front of Meema but found her paw phase through her head and the energy ball.

"D-Did I stop time?...Can I play it back AH!"

As soon as she said play, the scene resumed with Meema flying backwards from the impact. Judy saw the chest camera fly off and land on the pavement, glass flying off. She pulled her ears down, hearing the screams of agony from Meema.

"M-make it stop! Stop!"

Judy heard a clock tick and then a bell.

Looking back, she saw everything was frozen yet again with Meema on the ground, both of her paws about to go to her injured eye. The cloaked mammal was about to walk forward as Judy then gasped looking at her paws.

"I-I can s-stop the time...I-I can play it back...I-I have magic?"

She shook her head and then ran over to Meema's fallen body.

"I don't know how long this will last. I need to take advantage of this."

Looking over, she winced. The once healthy eye was now a corrupted purple. There were claw marks over it showing the energy paw made these markings. Getting closer, she saw the pupil was a….heart?...

The eye had a pupil of a red heart instead of the natural black circle. The iris was a corrupted purple with black wisps emitting. Finally, instead of a natural white around it, it was a jet black with a haunting purple glow.

"G-gross...It looks all rotten...The claw markings looks like the same one on Manchas...So next time I see it, I'll be more aware...The words!..U-uhhh Play!"

Meema's paws went to the eye as she let out her shriek and yowls of pain. The cloaked mammal walked past her, a dark paw dragging along the alley wall, words forming in purple. As it finish forming, Judy walked towards it.

"Stop!"

The scene froze, the cloaked mammal just about leaving the alleway. Judy looked at the text again.

'Gsv jfvvm rh ulfmw. Dv droo xlmgrmfv gl ollp uli gsv qzxp, prmt, zmw zxv. Lfi oliw Vivyfh droo irhv ztzrm. Nzb gsv wzipmvhh tfrwv fh.'

"Dangit...Cipher again...Manchas didn't know what it was and neither do I...If Only If I could translate it!"

Judy angrly pounded her paw against the wall.

T.

She looked up surprised seeing that the G in the text changed into a T.

"W-what?"

She rubbed her paw against the s, v, j, v, v, and m.

Judy watched in amazement as the words started to transform into…

"The Queen?" she said to herself.

Judy tried to rub her paw against the others but to no avail. The words didn't change.

"Cheese and Crackers! I thought I could solve it!...Wait. The queen?"

The rabbit looked on the alley floor and found the playing card. Queen of hearts.

"The queen….Meema...The heart in her...S-she's the queen! That's it!"

It all made sense! Whatever these mammals are targeting, they're going after those certain ones and marking them. Meema is the queen. Nick is the Ace. Finnick the Jack.

"Then...that makes Manchas the king...But there are other cards...Maybe not just face cards...Numbers?.."

Judy was unsure but there was one thing she wanted to do. Walking over to the cloaked mammal, she slowly reached towards the hood.

"Alright. Let's see who you really are."

Judy quickly pulled it down and then let out a scream.

"Ahahahah!~ Hello again Lagomorph! Looks like you didn't heed my warning!"

Judy quickly jumped back in fright.

There, it revealed a head of a fox with one purple eye and one green eye.

Judy frowned and furrowed her brows.

"Erebus!"

The cloaked mammal disappear and in its place was Erebus, still wearing his black suit, white dress shirt, and blood red tie.

With a grin showing his sharp teeth, the fox floated towards Judy.

"So. I gave you a warning and you didn't listen. You kept nosing around in my business even when I the kind Lord Erebus let you off! But. You didn't listen did you."

Judy stood confidently and faced eye to eye.

"Lay off it Erebus. You keep your dirty paws off of Nick and Finnick."

Erebus let out a chuckle which made Judy shiver as it echoed around her.

"You are in no position of making any demands, let alone tell what a god can do. I saw you solving the puzzle. I saw you get your magic. You're never out of my sight Hopps. Last warning. Either give up the foxes peacefully, or you join me and the cult. I promise to give you anything you want. Aren't you tired of mammals discriminating you? I mean look at you! You discovered you have magic! You can be above these damned mammals. What do you say. We have a deal?"

Erebus held out a paw, the same grin on his face.

Judy knew the discrimination. Hell, her own chief couldn't treat her right. Gideon Grey bullying her, her family doubting her dream, and every mammal not believing in her. But amidst all of that, the memories that resonated was when she was hanging out with Nick and Finnick reviewing the case, Nick's determined face and face of anger when Finnick was hurt, Finnick's face of pure hopelessness staring at Nick's sleeping form and one of pure amazement using his magic chains. Finally, she looked up and reached towards the paw, the grin on the fox's face getting bigger.

And then slapped it down.

"Get out of here Erebus. Mammals like you make me sick and my friends will be ready to take you down, god or not."

Erebus simply chuckled loudly and looked at Judy straight in the eyes.

"Brave but foolish Hopps. This is your last warning. Stop following the case and I'll spare your pathetic life."

The fox simply shrugged and walked through the walls, disappearing. Judy sighed loudly but then widened her eyes as the alleway started to shake. The walls started to fall apart as blood flowed in like a fountain. Judy tried to run but screamed in terror as the blood swallowed her hole. The vortex inside carried to her the center as she desperately tried to swim to the top. Running out of air, she slowly started to lose consciousness, red fading to black.

And then it all disappeared with nothing to be found.

Judy opened her eyes with a loud gasp as she look around in fright. She was sitting in the chair and a frightened Finnick was sitting up in the bed.

"Judy you good?" He asked.

Judy coughed and then nodded.

"H-how long was I out for?."

Finnick looked at the crummy digital clock and then shrugged.

"Like five minutes. I was just about to rest my eyes."

The rabbit looked back at the paper and then widened her eyes seeing on the desk, written in blood, were the words.

'Last Warning. Foxes To Me Or Else…'

Judy took the paper with the words she wrote down and soaked up the blood cleaning it.

"Erebus. If you can hear me, I'm going to solve this no matter what you throw at me."

Judy threw the paper away and walked back to her bed, exhausted from all the new experiences. She'll have to tell Finnick about her new found magic tomorrow. For now, she must sleep. Tilting her head on the pillow, she watched Finnick murmuring something into Nick's ear as he held paws with his friend. Her heart wrenched seeing Finnick tear up and press his face into Nick's shirt, crying himself to sleep.

Judy looked up at the ceiling and then promised to herself.

'I'm going to save Nick and Finnick. Erebus will not touch them. We're going to solve this together. As friends.'

With a smile, she slowly dozed off drifting into a dreamless sleep.

Outside the motel, a crouched mammal, wearing a cloak watched through with binoculars.

"Yes Target still there."

….

"Will keep overwatch... Of course."

….

"Understood. May the darkness guide us."

The mammal then disappeared into thin air not even leaving a wisp of wind.

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I was debating on giving Judy magic or not. Finally came to a conclusion with giving her magic that helps here with detective/police work. What she can do is go over memories in a certain time frame and look over them in a 3d fashion. Kinda like a video game. I don't know how I came up with that but it turned out to be a good way to explore the plot and mystery behind everything. Congrats on more solving the codes. For the very difficult one, I'll give you another hint.

WWI: German Cryptography.


	14. Awaken

Sorry for the long wait. This is a short chapter but is needed for a filler. I ran into a writer's block and needed to get this out so I could think of something better. Thanks for the support and keep on reading. Next update will probably be this weekend.

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Nick opened his eyes and slowly sat up.

"Mngh...W-what's going on?

Blinking a few times, the fox shook his head and realized he was sitting on a velvet rug. Slowly standing up, he looked around confused.

"Where...Where am I?"

As he tried to figure out where he was, Nick quickly turned around hearing a loud whistle.

A door materialized in front of him and as it opened, a fox with a black suit and blood red tie walked out and closed the door. What made Nick worried was the green eye and the evil purple eye.

"Ah~ There you are. I've been looking around for you Nick Wilde."

Nick tilted his head but kept the card poised, ready to be thrown.

"Who are you. Where am I?!"

Nick grew slightly annoyed as the fox simply chuckled.

"Right. This is the first time we met. My name is Lord Erebus. You are...In your...Well...Our mindscape."

"Our mind scape? Are you me?"

Erebus shrugged.

"Sort of. You helped me exist! So thank you for that."

Nick was taken back.

"I helped you exist?.."

Erebus nodded and then smiled showing off his sharp fangs making Nick very uneasy.

"That's right. You helped me. How doesn't matter. I have a small request."

Nick watched as Erebus held out his paw and a small cube appear. The cube expanded and light bursted out. Nick watched as it started to form into a picture like hologram. It expanded out showing the tie that Nick wore.

"This is the anti-surge charm that you have. I'm sure that Fate gave it to you."

If Nick wasn't worried, he was now. There was no way Erebus knew his name, Twisted Fate's name, and knew about the anti-surge charm.

"Who are you Erebus. You know a lot about me." Nick said with a suspicious laced in his voice.

"Twisted Fate is a criminal. He abandoned his only friend just to gain the magic and blessing of the spirits. Did he ever tell you that Nick? Did he ever tell you that he only gave you powers just to make himself feel better after leaving his friend to die?" Erebus continued to say ignoring him.

Nick bristled, his hackles rising. How dare this mammal talk trash and lies about Mr. Fate.

As he was about to send the card flying, Erebus snapped his fingers.

"Hrk!"

Erebus was smiling and held a flintlock pistol. The barrel was pressed against Nick's forehead, the cold steel making him shiver.

"Well that's not nice. I'm trying to tell you the truth and you try to throw your little playing cards at me. Now listen to me."

Erebus tilted his head as Nick slowly lowered his paw the card disappearing.

"Good. Now before I was rudely interrupted. Twisted Fate abandoned his friend in order to get the blessing of the spirits. He is a criminal, stealing, robbing, and even killing mammals for money. Oh? He didn't tell you? His paws are stained with innocent blood and he thinks that it's all fine. That anti-surge? It was made to hold you back. He didn't teach you enough on how to control your massive power so he decided to give you this instead so you couldn't use your full potential."

Nick let out a low growl.

"Careful Erebus. I don't know who you think you are trash talking my teacher. You have no proof anyways…"

Erebus smirked.

"How about some proof?"

The hologram changed into a scene. There, it showed a young coyote wearing dirty clothes. Looking closely, the coyote's eyes were a light blue and around his neck was a necklace made of copper. Standing next to him was another mammal who had a paw on the coyote's shoulder. The mammal was wearing similar clothes and the fur sticking around the clothes seemed to be a tan color. The head of the mammals seemed to be blurred out with black making it impossible to see the species.

"You see this mammal? That was Twisted Fate. His best friend right next to him and they stole small stuff in order to make a little money. One day, he thought it would be a good idea to try to steal something bigger. When it all went wrong, Twisted Fate escaped by himself leaving his good friend behind. The police caught his friend and subjected all the charges to him. Prison, and since the judge and jury were against him, he had the highest sentence and sent to the worst prison. Good ol justice system. I would tell you more but, I think that's enough to keep you on edge Nick. Twisted Fate isn't a good mammal. If you think he cares about you, just watch your back because one day you'll find a knife! "

Nick stumbled back as the room started to tremble. Erebus simple closed his paw and glared at the fox.

"Understand Nick. You want to keep your friends safe? You come to me. You can't trust Fate. If you want more proof. Come to some coordinates. Bring your little Fennec Fox but not that damned rabbit. I cannot stand her. If you're not convinced. Why don't you try using your card magic now without the anti-surge…."

The room trembled even more now, violently shaking as Nick tried to stay standing. The floor started to crack and crumble around him before breaking, the fox falling down. Letting out a yell of panic, Nick tried to channel his Destiny Gate but found himself unable to focus due to how much he was panicking.

"The truth will set you free Nick. I wouldn't lie to the mammal who created me would I?"

Just like that, Nick's vision went dark.

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"AHHH! OH GOODNESS!"

Nick snapped his head up as he woke up with sweat pouring down his head. Panting loudly and gasping for breathe, finding himself on the bed. Feeling a paw grab his shoulder, Nick snapped his head.

To see Finnick's worried face.

"Nick! Calm the fuck down!"

Nick held his breath as Finnick hugged him tightly.

"You fucking scared me man...You wouldn't wake up...You just wouldn't wake up…"

It slowly turned into sobs as Nick hugged Finnick tightly patting his head.

"H-hey buddy. I'm right here...S-shhh...Don't worry…"

Nick pressed his head against the smaller fox and closed his own eyes.

"Shh...I'm right here Finny…"

He didn't even notice Judy watching by her bed who had a look of relief seeing Nick awake.

Nick sighed letting his paws run through Finnick's fur. He was so. Confused. Erebus telling all those lies about Mr. Fate….

Right?

'If you're not convinced. Why don't you use your card magic now?'

Nick shook his head as Erebus' voice echoed through through his mind.

"You ok Nick?"

Judy had a worried look as Nick slowly nodded.

"Yeah...I'm good. Just a little...Confused...Where are we…"

The rabbit walked out of the bed and sat across from Nick.

"Nick. There's a lot to tell you. All of it is important."

Nick straightened up and sighed preparing himself.

"I'm listening Judes. What you got."

The rabbit took a deep breath and slowly let it out.

"Nick. There's something trying to get you and Finnick."

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Sorry for the long update and a short chapter. School is pretty chaotic and I ran into a writer's block. No cryptogram this time so sorry! I will make sure the next chapter is longer so don't get too upset at me! Thanks for being patient and sorry again.


	15. Writer's Block

Hello. Sorry this isn't a new chapter but I need to ask for your help as readers of my story. Currently, I am stuck in a writer's block but I don't want to give up on the story just yet. So if you have any suggestions, please pm me or make a review. That will help me and hopefully inspire me to write out some more. Until then, please hold on, the story isn't done yet.


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